La Liga Matchday 9 throws together a Valencia side rooted in the relegation zone and an Athletic Bilbao outfit pushing for a top half finish and a realistic tilt at European football next season. Valencia sit 19th with just five points from eight games after a turbulent start, so the stakes here are about as high as they get for Javier Aguirre, who is only two games into his tenure after replacing the interim Oscar Sanchez on 23 September 2026. Athletic, sitting 10th with eight points from six matches, arrive in better shape under Edin Terzic, appointed in July 2026 to replace Ernesto Valverde.
There is no meaningful head to head record between Aguirre and Terzic to draw on, so this one comes down to style rather than history. Aguirre brings extensive La Liga experience to a crisis job while Terzic is still finding his footing after arriving in the summer and their contrasting approaches make the tactical matchup more interesting than any prior record could reveal.
Valencia arrive with a run of L L W L D across their last five, their most recent result a 2 2 draw at Racing Santander on 11 October 2026 that doubled as Aguirre's debut. Athletic have been steadier, going L W W D D in the same period including a 0 0 against Alaves on 19 September 2026, a game they controlled without needing to be at their best, keeping a clean sheet through defensive organisation rather than attacking dominance. Valencia are still searching for any kind of rhythm under new management.
Valencia are without several players. Sergi Canos (ACL) and Diego Lopez are both out through injury, Umar Sadiq is sidelined with a hamstring problem and both Dimitri Foulquier and Luis Rioja are doubts, which puts more pressure on Hugo Duro up front and forces Aguirre to make do with what remains.
Athletic are dealing with their own absentees. Oihan Sancet (calf) and Nico Williams (muscle) are both out: together they accounted for most of Athletic's direct ball carrying in the final third this season, so losing both at once is a real problem. Unai Egiluz is out long term with an ACL injury and Aymeric Laporte is a doubt with illness, without him calling the offside line, Athletic may end up sitting deeper than they would like.
Valencia under Aguirre are likely to set up in a 4 2 3 1 or 4 5 1, pressing high and looking to hurt teams through transitions and set pieces rather than sustained possession. Hugo Duro leads the line, with Javi Guerra pushing forward from midfield, Pepelu sitting deeper to provide structure and Jose Gaya at left back adding experience to the defensive shape. Athletic favour a 4 2 3 1 built on defensive solidity and physical presence. Even without Sancet and Nico Williams, they are well organised and Unai Simon is reliable in goal. Inaki Williams runs in behind, holds up play when the ball is played long and drives at full backs when given the chance, while Alex Berenguer adds a goal threat by arriving late into the box from midfield. Laporte's absence, if confirmed, matters most at dead balls, where Athletic lose their most reliable aerial presence.
With Nico Williams out, Athletic's natural wide outlet on the left disappears, which could give Guerra and Pepelu more room to congest the centre. Valencia, though, are also short on attacking options, so Duro will be asked to do a lot on his own, with most of their attacking moves likely to come from set pieces and transitions after Athletic win the ball high rather than anything constructed through phases of play. The most interesting individual battles come in the midfield: Gaya against Athletic's wide attackers and Pepelu tracking Berenguer's late runs into the box.
Valencia won both league meetings against Athletic last season, 2 0 at home and 1 0 away, though both squads have changed considerably since then and the historical edge only tells part of the story.
Set pieces matter for both sides here. Valencia, short on creative players, will target deliveries into the box and Aguirre's high intensity approach suggests they will press Athletic on dead balls too. Athletic are organised enough to defend most of what comes their way but carry their own threat from set pieces, particularly if Laporte is fit to win headers.
Valencia need points desperately to escape the bottom three, whereas Athletic are on a four game unbeaten run and want to climb the table. Athletic are seven points clear of the bottom three and can afford to leave with one point, Valencia cannot, which could push Aguirre's side to be bolder than their current squad depth realistically allows.
The prediction is 1 1. Valencia's home environment and Aguirre's demand for intensity should produce at least one moment, probably from a set piece or a Duro transition but Athletic have kept two clean sheets in their last four and look capable of limiting what comes their way. With Sancet, Nico Williams, Sadiq and Canos all out, neither side has their first choice attack available, so the goals will most likely come from dead balls rather than open play. One each feels like the most logical outcome given how both teams are set up to defend first.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
