Some would say that Athletic are already through to the semi-finals after the 4-2 victory in Germany, but you can bet your life that Marcelo Bielsa and his players will take this game very seriously and try to record another victory. Schalke will try everything to keep this tie alive for as long as possible, but they clearly face a mountain to climb at San Mames.

No excuses for Bielsa

Athletic Bilbao have been absolutely brilliant this season and almost all under-par results this term have been the result of fatigue. It is not easy for a team with just 14 or 15 high-quality players to successfully compete on three major fronts, and for the time being team’s La Liga campaign is paying the price. While already qualifying for Copa del Rey final, los Leones have shown tremendous amount of quality in Europa League, with double victory over Manchester United proving they’ve got what it takes to match the best sides in Europe. Marcelo Bielsa’s side largely impressed in the first leg against Schalke as well, having recorded a 4-2 victory, but knowing this Athletic side, we can safely say that they will give their best in the return leg and try to qualify for the semi-finals in style. One thing that I really love about Marcelo Bielsa and his side is that they are not looking for any excuses even when these are more than justified, so I was really glad to hear the Athletic camp not blaming fatigue for the 2-0 defeat to Barcelona even if that match had been played less than 48 hours after the Schalke game.

With Ander Iturraspe suspended, Javi Martinez is set to return to the centre of the park, with Borja Ekiza expected to partner Fernando Amorebieta in defence. The latest reports suggest that Bielsa is going to field his strongest possible line-up.

Tough luck for Schalke

Schalke, too, have been going strong this season, and the Miners look very good at the moment, but they cannot be expected to overturn a two-goal deficit against amazing Athletic side. The Miners are closing in on Champions League qualification seeing they are now 13 points ahead of fifth-placed Hannover, but Huub Stevens’ side need to remain in third place in order to qualify directly into the group stages. On the other hand, Schalke have done well in Europe so far and they played a decent game against Athletic, but were punished for their profligacy in front of goal and a series of defensive mistakes. Being two goals behind, the Miners have no choice but to attack Bilbao at their Cathedral and that is likely to prove to be a genuine suicide. Not even Manchester United could avoid defeat at San Mames so it is hard to expect that the Germans can fare any better.

Benedikt Howedes continues to miss out, but Christoph Metzelder, Christian Fuchs and Jermaine Jones are back in contention.

Verdict

The return leg against Manchester United showed that Athletic take all their games very seriously and we can expect los Leones to try and win this game as well. Schalke players have probably come to terms with Europa League elimination and I seriously doubt they can match Athletic at their Cathedral.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 1.91 (10/11)

Bookmaker: Ladbrokes