Athletic Bilbao vs Sevilla preview - Athletic out to end Sevilla run

Posted Sunday, April 27, 2014 by PA

Athletic Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose insists the team will go all out to beat Sevilla in Sunday's showdown for the final Champions League spot.

The Basques lead the Andalusians by three points, a gap they will be hoping to double at San Mames, while a win for Sevilla would see Unai Emery's side take fourth due to a superior head-to-head record.

A stalemate would see Athletic maintain their margin with just three games to go, but San Jose ruled out playing for a point.

"We don't know how to play for a draw, all we know is going out to win," he said.

"If we don't, then a draw isn't so bad, but we're only thinking about getting the win."

Sevilla have won nine of their 10 games and San Jose is wary of their form.

He said: "They are on a very good run and are having a brilliant season.

"We cannot wait for the game to come around and it's also going to be a difficult game for them. There will be several details that will decide the game, but we never get nervous and we are going to take the initiative and try to play better than them."

Sevilla are 90 minutes away from a first European final in seven years after winning the first leg of their Europa League semi-final with Valencia 2-0, but Emery is also keen to seize the chance to take the team into the Champions League.

"We have fourth spot within our hands. We want to leave Bilbao in that position and that's why we need to go there determined to get the win," the coach said.

Despite the importance of the game, Emery admitted he might have to rotate his side following the match against Valencia, but insisted he would only do so to ensure his players were at their peak.

"We've been playing important matches for a long time and we need our players to be in the best condition possible," he said.

"Tomorrow we may have to count on players that didn't play on Thursday, because we will need to play with a lot of intensity from the first minute to the 90th."

Emery will be boosted by the return of Alberto Moreno from injury, while Athletic are nervously waiting on the fitness of Iker Muniain, who is a doubt due to back trouble.