Inaki Williams leads Athletic Bilbao against Almeria today

Athletic Bilbao will be bidding to bounce back from their defeat in the Basque derby when they resume their La Liga campaign at home to Almeria on Friday night.

The Lions have made a solid start to their 2023-24 campaign, sitting sixth in the table on 14 points, but Almeria have struggled, with the visitors bottom of the division on three points from eight matches. Athletic were well-beaten in the Basque derby last weekend, conceding three unanswered goals to Real Sociedad.

Athletic Bilbao have made a solid start to the season, boasting a record of four wins, two draws and two defeats from eight matches to collect 14 points, which has left them in sixth position.

Athletic will now be bidding to enter the international break off the back of a victory, before returning to La Liga action away to the champions Barcelona on October 22.

Almeria have a talented squad, but it is really difficult to back them at the moment. The visitors will end their winless run at some stage, but it is highly unlikely to be in this match, and we are expecting Athletic to collect all three points in relatively comfortable fashion at San Mames.

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Empoli, Udinese get this weekend Serie A underway on FridayEmpoli and Udinese get the Serie A weekend underway when they meet at the Stadio Carlo Castellani on Friday evening.

In what appears to be a potential early-season relegation six-pointer, both sides enter the fixture in the bottom four, which is starting to become cut adrift.

Empoli have lost six of their first seven games in Serie A, and Udinese are still without a win, highlighting the importance of what a positive result could do for either side here. Those six defeats for Empoli have all come without scoring, as their solitary goal remains Tommaso Baldanzi‘s vital strike in a 1-0 victory over Salernitana late last month.

With games against Empoli next, and then Lecce and Monza after the international break, Udinese must move away from the drop zone before entering a daunting run of games in November.

Andrea Sottil‘s side travel to Bergamo to face Atalanta and the capital for a clash with Roma, while also welcoming AC Milan to the Dacia Arena – three games which look devilishly difficult on paper.

While still winless, Udinese have shown more mettle and attacking quality in recent weeks, and may take the three points in this bottom-of-the-table clash.

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Lecce welcome Sassuolo to the Stadio Via del Maretonite

Early surprise package Lecce welcome Sassuolo to the Stadio Via del Mare in Serie A on Friday night. After a truly remarkable start for the hosts, tougher tests have since arrived and seen them drop down the standings, while Sassuolo continue to be heavily inconsistent.

Despite going down to Juventus and Napoli in the past week, those results do not detract from what has been a fantastic start to the Serie A season for Lecce.

Even though Lecce have lost their last two outings, they still enter the weekend in the European places after seven matches.

That again is in complete contrast to last season, when the Giallorossi won none of their opening six matches in Serie A.

Sassuolo have gone through another one of their runs which leaves both supporters and neutrals scratching their heads.

So often being the scourge of Italy’s biggest clubs, Sassuolo then frequently fail to beat sides below them in terms of resources and league position.

After losing 4-2 at newly-promoted Frosinone, Sassuolo caught fire and inflicted the same scoreline on Juventus a week later.

Sassuolo have never lost to Lecce in six previous meetings – winning on three occasions, including completing the double last season with two 1-0 wins.

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Luton Town host Tottenham in Saturday’s early kickoff

Separated by 15 places and 13 points in the embryonic Premier League table, Luton Town host Tottenham Hotspur at Kenilworth Road in Saturday’s early kickoff, where the visitors can rise to the summit with victory.

Luton Town were subjected to a 2-1 beating at the hands of Burnley in midweek, while Spurs overcame Liverpool by the same scoreline thanks to an already-infamous VAR clanger.

The jury is still out over Tottenham’s title credentials, but the North London club have still scored at least twice in all of their Premier League games under coach Postecoglou, who leads Spurs out for their first competitive showdown with Luton since 1992, where the two sides played out a third successive 0-0 draw at Kenilworth Road.

While the last three meetings between Luton and Tottenham on the Hatters’ turf have ended without the net rippling once, Postecoglou’s goal-happy team should have little difficulty navigating their way past Edwards’s leaky backline.

Midweek fatigue and Bell’s injury should also play their part in a chastening afternoon for the hosts, as Tottenham temporarily rise to the top of the standings with another few goals in tow.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk