Elche barely survived relegation last season, finishing just two points over the eighteenth-placed Huesca. However, Fran Escriba's team was always hard to beat, playing tough defensive football that gave a lot of trouble even for some of the biggest names in the Spanish top tier. Athletic Bilbao can sometimes be considered one of those clubs, but have shown signs of struggle last season, finishing tenth while not looking like a dangerous squad at all. Still, their current coach, Marcelino, did a solid job stabilizing their shaky campaign. Elche will host his club in the first round of Spain's La Liga, one of the most prestigious competitions in European football.

Elche will miss Luismi, Jony Alamo, Pablo Piatti, and Guido Carrillo for the upcoming clash. The hosts were good at home last season, losing just six of nineteen matches played here. They are confident about taking at least a point in this duel, considering Bilbao's awful away record in the league recently. Los Franjiverdes scored eighteen and conceded twenty-three goals at home last campaign, having a decent goal difference for a weaker league side. Their last welcoming of Bilbao ended quite well, with the hosts finding a 2-0 victory in May this year. Escriba's men ended the last season with a two-game winning streak, hoping to extend it against Marcelino's squad.

Athletic Club is without a lot of players for this game. All of Yuri Berchiche, Peru Nolaskoain, Ander Capa, Kenan Kodro, and Inigo Cordoba will be absent here. Athletic had poor results away from home last season, winning only three of nineteen visits. Their previous two league visits came as losses, and I simply cannot see them taking the full three points in this match. Good luck!

埃尔切上赛季勉强保级，仅比排名第 18 的韦斯卡高两分。然而，弗兰·埃斯克里巴的球队总是很难被击败，他们踢出强硬的防守足球，甚至给西班牙顶级联赛的一些的顶级球队带来了很多麻烦。毕尔巴鄂竞技有时可以被认为是这些俱乐部之一，但上赛季已经显示出挣扎的迹象，虽然看起来一点也不像一支危险的球队，但最终排名第十。尽管如此，他们现任教练马塞利诺在稳定球队方面做得很好。埃尔切将在首轮迎战毕尔巴鄂竞技。

埃尔切将缺少路易斯米、乔尼·阿拉莫、巴勃罗·皮亚蒂和吉多·卡里略。上赛季他们在主场表现出色，19 场比赛中仅输掉了 6 场。考虑到毕尔巴鄂最近在联赛中糟糕的客场战绩，他们有信心在这场对决中至少取得一分。上赛季在主场攻入 18 球，失 23 球，对于一支实力较弱的联赛球队来说，净胜球不错。他们最后一次对毕尔巴鄂的结果很好，在今年 5 月以 2-0 获胜。埃斯克里巴的球队以两连胜结束了上个赛季，希望能在对马塞利诺的球队的比赛中延续下去。

毕尔巴鄂竞技将会缺少很多球员。Yuri Berchiche、Peru Nolaskoain、Ander Capa、Kenan Kodro 和 Inigo Cordoba 都将缺席。毕尔巴鄂上赛季在客场表现不佳，在 19 次客场比赛中只赢了 3 次。他们之前的两个联赛客场都输球了，我不认为他们可以在这场比赛中拿下三分。祝好运！