Moyes upbeat for Athletic clash

Real Sociedad boss David Moyes insists he is looking forward to locking horns with Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby on Tuesday night.

The former Everton and Manchester United chief is used to games against his team’s closest rivals but is still excited at the prospect of visiting San Mames with the Txuri-urdin.

“It’s going to be a difficult match but we’ll be going there to try and win so we can give our supporters something to smile about, and that would be good,” Moyes told a Press conference.

“Derbies are different games but I do think they are special as many don’t go to plan. They are played differently all over the world and you are never sure what the outcome will be.”

The Scot came across Athletic two years ago in Europe when he was with United and revealed he has been keeping a close eye on them ever since.

“I’ve taken the opportunity to watch them as I’m trying to build up my knowledge of Spanish football – not only Athletic but other teams as well, although San Mames is one of the closest stadiums for me to get to.

“They have several very good players: Inaki Williams, [Aritz] Aduriz, who is strong in the air, and there is also a lot of creativity in midfield. [Ander] Iturraspe is a good player but I’m not sure if he’s available, while [Aymeric] Laporte is a left-footed central defender, which is a rarity in the modern game as you don’t see many of them.

“I know quite a bit about Bilbao as I’ve been looking at them for several years. Although I don’t know all their squad I know the majority of their players,” he maintained.

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