Highlights
Thank you
Thank you for joining us for tonight's Basque Derby. We will be back with lots more coverage across the VAVEL network this weekend including live games from England, Italy and Scotland.
Full TIme: Athletic Club 2-0 Real Sociedad
It may be midnight in Bilbao but the night is still young for the Athletic fans. They fully deserved this result tonight and their first-half dominance was enough to carry them to their first win over La Real since 2017.
La Real will be disappointed. They were poor tonight. The first half was dreadful and they were a bit better after the break but it was in vain and they can't really complain.
90' Seven minutes added on.
90' Yuri tries another one from distance. The keeper saves it but knocks it up into the air. He's quick to react though and catches the loose ball before Aduriz can follow it in.
Sub!
86' Aduriz is on for Williams. The big striker receives a rapturous welcome.
84' Sangalli tries a shot from distance. It bounces just ahead of Unai Simon but he is able to collect it.
81' Muniain is fouled just outside the box. This is dangerous.
Ibai hits the free-kick over the wall but wide. However, the ref isn't happy and orders a retake. This time he does much the same but a bit higher.
80' 10 minutes to go. La Real have looked better this half but they haven't done anywhere near enough tonight.
Sub!
Januzaj off, Sangalli on.
Sub!
77' Yuri releases Williams down the left and he lays it off to Ibai Gomez but his shot is poor and straight at Moya.
Sub!
74' Ibai Gomez is on for Cordoba
Yellow!
Yuri has a kick at Januzaj from behind and the ref reaches for the pocket.
70' La Real are enjoying some possession now as Athletic retreat to defend their lead.
Sub!
Benat replaces Unai Lopez.
Goal Disallowed!!! Still Athletic 2-0 La Real
Isak looked to be just offside as the ball came to him and VAR have chalked it off. It took too long to make that call but it looks like the right decision.
GOAL! Athletic 2-1 La Real
62' Isak nods in after a mix up in the Athletic defence but VAR are all over it again. Looked offside.
Sub!
Willian Jose is off and is replaced by Isak.
49' Dani Garcia picks up the ball in midfield and drives forward. He lets rip from 25 yards and it's powerful but off-target. La Real not really looking any better so far.
46' The second half is now underway. Can La Real work a way back into the game?
Work to do for the visitors
That was dreadful from La Real. They were second best all over the park. They need to do something during the break but it's all the harder without their leader, Asier Illarramendi who went off injured. The biggest positive for La Real is they probably can't be that bad again.
Half Time: Athletic Club 2-0 Real Sociedad
Pretty close to perfection from Athletic. They really couldn't have asked for more.
45' Six minutes added due to the Illarramendi injury.
45' Williams carries the ball forward before passing to Muniain on the right. Williams darts into the box, taking the defence with him which opens space for Cordoba. He shoots first time but his shot is high and over.
43' Yuri comes in from the left and unleashes a fierce shot with his right foot. It's straight at Moya but he doesn't look comfortable and just gets behind it and palms it away.
42' Muniain wins a corner down the right-wing by playing the ball off Llorente. Yeray meets the ball at the corner but his volley is off-target.
Sub!
Portu is the man who comes on to replace Illarramendi. Not exactly like for like that one.
Yellow!
36' Raul Garcia goes into the book and naturally pleads his innocence. Truth be told, that was a poor challenge. He went up for a header but led with his leg.
34' Illarramendi is down with an injury. He slipped whilst going up for a challenge with Unai Lopez and the Athletic midfielder came down on top of him. He's being helped off the pitch to a round of applause from the home fans. You won't always get that in a derby.
GOAL! Athletic 2-0 La Real
Raul Garcia!!! The attacker picks the ball up on the left side of the box and he lobs it up into the air. Moya looks to have it under control but his hand is weak and he fails to get it over the bar and it's in the net. The craft from Garcia was admirable but the goalkeeper was not.
24' Odegaard takes the free-kick but he hits it into the wall. It may have hit a hand and VAR checks that out but rule that play should continue.
No penalty
VAR has overruled the initial decision and it's a free-kick. Correct decision.
Penalty La Real
21' Zaldua goes down under pressure from Cordoba. It might have been outside the box and VAR are looking at it.
19'
19' Zaldua is lucky to still be on here. Fresh from his yellow he has had kicks at Martinez and Raul Garcia. Certainly, the Garcia one might have been worth a yellow on its own.
Yellow
Zaldua goes into the book. He takes a poor touch and Cordoba nips in to take the ball which he wins but gets caught by Zaldua. Easy booking.
GOAL! Athletic 1-0 Real Sociedad
11' Capa plays a quick one-two from a thrown and drills the ball across goal. Inaki Williams is there and he just has to redirect it to put the hosts ahead.
Top of the league?
The Sevilla game finished 1-1 which means that the winners of tonight's game will join them at the top of La Liga on seven points.
3' Williams is brought down by Merino about 25 yards out from goal. It's a bit far out to the left but Unai Lopez fancies it. His shot is poor but it hit the wall and goes wide. The resulting corner beats everyone and arrives to Cordoba outside the box but his shot is rising and goes over.
2' They may get along in the stands but it hasn't started that way on the pitch. There have been a few feisty clashes already.
0' We are underway.
Real Sociedad fans in the San Mames
There are quite a few La Real fans amongst the home fans. This game is one of the biggest derbies in the world but there is also healthy respect between both sets of fans who will have been mixing outside the stadium too.
Teams are coming out
We are just moments away as the teams enter San Mames and prepare for the prematch formalities.
Didn't last long
Celta have just equalised in the other game. Denis Suarez scores against his old club which may see Sevilla lose their 100% record.
Hopefully, our game will be as entertaining as the last few minutes of that one.
Tonights other game
Sevilla have just taken the lead against Celta de Vigo at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Franco Vazquez with a header from an Ever Banega free-kick.
30 minutes to go
We are now less than half an hour from kickoff. Who do you think will win the game?
Send us your tweets to @VAVEL_EuroFoot
Carnival atmosphere outside San Mames
🎤🗣️ El #Bertsoderbia, camino de San Mamés... 🏟️#AthleticRealSociedad #AthleticClub 🔴⚪️🦁 pic.twitter.com/diFyRqJczQ — Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) August 30, 2019
Real Sociedad XI and Subs
📝 El once de hoy. BAT BI HIRU LAU BOST SEI ZAZPI REEEEEAAAAALLLLL!!!💙⚪#AthleticRealSociedad pic.twitter.com/Q1dHZzG6Ks — Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedad) August 30, 2019
Team news imminent
As we are now just over an hour until kick-off we should be expecting to hear team news at any moment.
Basque Derby
La Liga isn't without its fair share of representation from the Basque region but there's little doubt that this game is the biggest of them all.
The sides first met in 1909 and since then they have met 180 times including games in minor competitions and ones that no longer exist. Athletic have the better record with 75 wins to La Real's 57 wins.
Despite the overall record favouring Athletic, La Real have owned the fixture in recent years. They have won seven of the last 14 with Athletic winning just twice (both in 2016/17).
In terms of overall success, Athletic are well ahead of their neighbours. They have eight league titles and 23 Copa del Rey's compared to La Real's two league titles and two Copa del Rey's.
Do not miss a detail of the match with the live updates and commentaries of VAVEL. Follow along with us all the details, commentaries, analysis and lineups for this Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad match.
Alguacil says Athletic are the favourites
In his press conference, Imanol Alguacil played down his teams chances of winning in the stadium of their rivals:
"Athletic is the favourite because it has been 15 games since they lost at home. To win at San Mamés, you have to do many things well with the ball and without the ball. We are fine, but Athletic too."
"It already cost Barcelona when they played in Bilbao in the opening match of the league. Despite everything, we are the last to win there."
Garitano hopes to continue good start
Athletic coach, Gaizka Garitano was quick to point out his sides good start to the season in his press conference:
"We played against two of the most difficult teams in the league and we got four points. Now what we want is to win the derby to continue with this dynamic that we have."
"The most important thing is to get three points. It’s a special match because it’s the derby, we play at home, we feel strong because we started La Liga well, but it will be a very difficult match against a great team. For Real Sociedad too, because in the last few months we’ve shown that we’re a great team. We know each other very well, but I think we’re two teams who are more concerned about doing our own thing than about our opponents.
"We’re making our matches very intense. At San Mames we’ve been overtaking most of the teams for months, allowing very little and generating a lot. But it’s going to be complicated, they have players of great quality, they have been reinforced with very good players and we’ll have to do things very well both in defence and in the attack."
How to watch Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad Live TV and Stream
The game is not available to watch on television or to stream in the UK.
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Real Sociedad: Predicted XI
Moya; Zaldua, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Aihen; Merino, Illarramendi, Odegaard; Januzaj, Willian Jose, Oyarzabal
Athletic Club: Predicted XI
Unai Simon; Capa, Yeray, Inigo, Yuri; Unai Lopez, Dani Garcia; Muniain, Raul Garcia, Cordoba; Williams
Real Sociedad: Team news
La Real are close to full strength with their only absentee being Modibo Sagnan due to a hamstring problem. That means Imanol Alguacil will have some big decisions to make but it's a problem that he will welcome.
Athletic Club: Team news
Athletic will be without three players this weekend all through injury. Inigo Lekue, Oscar De Marcos and Gorka Guruzeta are all out but it will be De Marcos that's missed the most. He started both games so far but will miss this Basque Derby due to an ankle sprain.
Three away ties to start for La Real
Real Sociedad have had a difficult start to the season with three successive away games but so far, they have coped well.
They scored after 100 minutes to earn a draw away to Valencia on opening weekend and followed that up with a 1-0 win away to Mallorca thanks to a late Martin Odegaard goal.
Good start for Athletic
Athletic made a sensational start to their season when they beat Barcelona 1-0 thanks to a sensational late winner from Aritz Aduriz.
Last week they were away to Getafe and despite taking an early lead, they drew 1-1 against a side that looked likely to reach the Champions League for long spells last season.
Tonight's game is the first Basque derby of the season with Athletic playing host to their biggest rivals La Real.
Kick-off time
The Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad match will be played at San Mames, in Bilbao. The kick-off is scheduled at 21:00 BST.
Welcome to VAVEL.com's LIVE coverage of the 2019 La Liga match: Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad!
My name is Gerry Johnston and I’ll be your host for this game. We will provide you with pre-game analysis, roster updates, and news as it happens live here on VAVEL.