Weak spot of "Athletic": how "Qarabag" can achieve a sensational victory in Spain

"At this level, match results can vary, and we've already seen surprises in previous games. But speaking about style, we can say that the home team 'Athletic Bilbao' will try to apply high pressing from the first minutes. This is a team that knows how to press well with a 4-4-2 tactical formation. They will try to prevent 'Qarabag' from developing attacks and attempt to score as soon as they gain possession in the opponent's half."

These words were said by football expert Aslan Kerimov in his commentary for BAKU.WS.

He added that the game will develop in this direction, however, "Qarabag" is a team that likes to play with the ball and build attacks through combinations:

"If they can escape from such pressure, I believe that 'Qarabag' will have clear goal-scoring opportunities. After all, our representative has speedy players on the flanks. On one flank, there's the very fast Leandro Andrade. On the other flank - the skillful Abdullah Zubir. This gives reason to believe that after escaping the opponent's pressure, players like Marco Jankovic and Pedro Bicalho will be able to freely maintain possession. In difficult situations, they will be able to intercept the ball in the center and outplay the opponent. If they can implement this, our wing players will find themselves one-on-one with defenders in the opponent's half.

Athletic Bilbao's central defenders appear somewhat heavier compared to others. This indicates that we will have goal-scoring chances and one-on-one situations. I hope we can convert the created scoring opportunities into goals."

A. Kerimov noted that the opponent also has strengths, and the return of Nico Williams is an example of that:

"However, this footballer has been absent from the field for more than three months due to a serious injury. He only resumed training a week ago, and during this time won't be able to return to his previous dynamics. This player will carry weight only by his name on the field but won't be able to demonstrate his skills at his previous level.

In my opinion, 'Qarabag' will bring back at least one point from the away game. Athletic's recent games and Qarabag's successful results give reason to think so. Gurban Gurbanov's strategy is similar against any opponent. The club prefers and knows how to maintain possession.

Thanks to wing forwards and wing defenders, they create an advantage and threat to the opponent. I think 'Qarabag' will try to play in the same style in Spain as well. I believe we will return with three points or at least a draw."

Orkhan Huseyn