Ernesto Valverde has urged Athletic Bilbao to be wary of the threat posed by MSK Zilina. “They’re a team who find it easy to score goals”.
Los Leones were paired with the Slovakian runners-up in the Europa League playoff draw on Friday, but the Coach insists his team cannot afford to underestimate their opponents, even if little is known of them.
“It won’t be easy to beat [Athletic], even if we have the advantage of playing the second leg at San Mames,” he told reporters.
“We must put all our eggs in one basket. Before the League starts, we have the Supercopa against Barcelona and Europa League [playoffs]. The games are coming thick and fast.
“Maybe to the fans, Zilina are an unknown team but not so much to the players because they’ve been competing in Europe, won their League two seasons ago and were runners-up last term.
"They’re a reference point in Slovakian football, but although we know a little about their football, they’re still not very known to some of the lads, so we’ll have to do our research.
“They’ve started the season with two big victories, so they’re a team who find it easy to score goals.
“We must be wary of them. They’ve got here with a goal in the last minute.”
