Athletic Club Heads to Prague for Champions League Clash Against Slavia

The Athletic Club is set to travel to Prague this Monday afternoon to compete against Slavia in the Champions League. The team, having secured only one win thus far in the tournament, will depart on a charter flight from Loiu Airport at 3 PM. Subsequently, manager Valverde and player Guruzeta will hold an official press conference at the Fortuna Arena at 7 PM.

Valverde has called up 23 players for the match, including Nico Williams, who is following a specialized training regimen to alleviate ongoing pubalgia issues from the previous season. Williams was a starter in the match against Barcelona on Saturday, although he did not finish the game. It is likely that Valverde will replicate the strategy utilized with Williams in recent fixtures against Oviedo and Barcelona. The international player will be facing a familiar opponent, having scored against Slavia in last season’s group stage of the Europa League, where the Athletic Club emerged victorious with a 1-0 win, ultimately reaching the semifinals before being eliminated by Manchester United.

Prior to their departure, Athletic communicated that Nico Serrano would not be traveling due to a strain in his hamstring muscles, as he remains in Lezama for recovery. Other absentees for the upcoming European clash include Izeta, who is not registered for the competition and is also not involved in the Liga, along with injured players Iñaki Williams, Maroan, Prados, Egiluz, and the suspended Yeray.

The coach has included Hierro, a center forward from Bilbao Athletic who has already seen minutes against Newcastle, in the match plan. Additionally, Selton, another debutant from the Newcastle match, is retained in the squad and played regularly against Oviedo. Upon returning from Prague, the team will have a rest day before engaging in two training sessions leading up to their away match against Levante in La Liga.