Celta Vigo will travel to San Mamés on Sunday evening to face Athletic Bilbao in La Liga Round 37, a fixture that arrives with Celta clinging to sixth place and Athletic scrambling to recover form under Ernesto Valverde, who will stand down as head coach this summer.
Celta sit sixth in the table with 50 points from 36 matches, two points clear of seventh-placed Getafe and seven adrift of fifth-placed Real Betis, putting them on course for a Europa League league-stage place if they protect their position across the final two rounds. Athletic, by contrast, are 10th and four points off the European positions after taking 29 points from 18 home matches this season — a tally that looks solid on paper but has been undermined by results: Athletic have lost three of their last four league matches, including defeats in their most recent two outings against Valencia and Espanyol.
The weight of the fixture is immediate. Celta have taken 30 points from 18 away matches this campaign and arrive having won two of their last three, beating Elche and Atletico Madrid while losing 3-2 to Levante in their previous match; Ferran Jutgla scored twice in that defeat and has nine league goals for the season. Athletic go into San Mamés with unstable momentum after finishing fourth last season to reach the Champions League and then slipping this term, and Valverde's impending departure is already set to bring a change of guard — Edin Terzic has been confirmed as his replacement.
Head-to-head history adds another angle. Celta beat Athletic 2-0 in the reverse fixture earlier this season in Vigo, but Athletic have won four of the last six league meetings and lead the overall record 73 victories to 37. Athletic also recorded a 3-1 victory over Celta at San Mamés last season, underscoring how closely matched the sides have been across recent campaigns.
Team news sharpens the tactical picture. Athletic will be without Nico Williams, Dani Vivian and Oihan Sancet because of injury, while Benat Prados and Yuri Berchiche need late assessment. In Sancet's absence, Robert Navarro could operate as the number 10, with Inaki Williams — who started through the middle against Espanyol — likely to move back to a right-sided attacking role. Gorka Guruzeta is expected to lead the line as centre-forward and Alex Berenguer is in line to feature on the left. The supplementary lineup source projects Athletic to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Celta will be missing Miguel Roman and Carl Starfelt through injury but retain the attacking threat that has delivered consistency on the road. Their supplementary lineup projects a 3-4-2-1 shape, a set-up that has served them well away from Vigo this season as they chase the points that would lock in European qualification.
The tension in Bilbao is obvious. Athletic's European hopes have been weakened after the recent run of results, and the club's season will be judged in part by how it finishes under Valverde and how Terzic prepares to take over. For Celta, the simplest calculus is two points: they sit two clear of Getafe and any slip at San Mamés would invite pressure for the final weekend. For Athletic, the immediate task is to halt a slide that has seen three defeats in four and to produce a performance capable of reversing a worrying late-season trend.
This match will matter most for its immediate consequences: a Celta victory would significantly strengthen their hold on sixth and the Europa League berth that comes with it; anything less would leave the race open heading into the final round. For Valverde, the closing days of the campaign now double as a coda to his time in charge — results here and next will frame how his tenure is remembered and hand Terzic a clearer task when he arrives.
