Athletic Club make the trip to the Spanish capital on Wednesday, as they face off against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie. Los Leones will be aiming for a positive result to take back to San Mames, where the second leg will be played on the 29th of February.
Ahead of the match, head coach Ernesto Valverde has named his squad for the encounter at the Civitas Metropolitano, and in it, there are two big boosts. The two Williams brothers – Inaki and Nico – were both substituted against Mallorca on Friday night after injury concerns, and they had not been certain to be fit to face Atleti. However, both have been included in the matchday squad.
📋 Valverde convoca a toda la plantilla para la ida de las semifinales de Copa en el Metropolitano.
ℹ️ Información del viaje: https://t.co/6cAUmG3x7T#AtletiAthletic 🏆 #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/V5BD725OO0
— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) February 6, 2024
On top of this, Alex Berenguer is back, having missed the last three matches with a hamstring injury. It means that Valverde has an almost fully fit squad to choose from, with Inigo Lekue being the only absentee.
Athletic Club have all the tools to reach the Copa del Rey final, although defeating Atleti over two legs will be extremely difficult. If they can do it, they would have an excellent chance of winning their first title in the competition in exactly 20 years.
