The latest instalment of the Basque derby will take place at San Mames on Sunday evening, with Athletic Bilbao welcoming Real Sociedad.

Athletic are currently eighth in the La Liga table, picking up 12 points from nine matches, while Real Sociedad are fifth in the division on 19 points.

Match preview

Athletic boast a record of three wins, three draws and three defeats from their nine league matches this season, with 12 points leaving them in eighth spot in the division.

Edin Terzic's side will enter this match off the back of a 6-1 win over Prat in the Copa del Rey on Thursday evening, while they beat Getafe 4-0 in La Liga last time out, so the hosts will enter this contest off the back of successive wins.

The Lions finished 12th in Spain's top flight last season, so there is plenty of room for improvement during the current campaign.

Athletic lead the overall head-to-head record against Real Sociedad, having triumphed in 68 of their previous 175 meetings, suffering 62 defeats, while there have also been 45 draws.

Real Sociedad are actually unbeaten in their last five matches against Athletic, including three victories in all competitions during the 2025-26 season.

Indeed, La Real beat Athletic twice in the Copa del Rey semi-finals last season, in addition to recording a 3-2 win in their home league match in 2025-26.

That said, the corresponding match last season finished 1-1 back in February, and Real Sociedad have not beaten Athletic away from home in the league since December 2020.

The White and Blues will enter this match off the back of three straight wins in all competitions, while they have posted four La Liga victories in a row, overcoming Valencia, Deportivo La Coruna, Malaga and Levante.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side are currently fifth in the La Liga table, picking up 19 points from five matches, and they sit just one point behind fourth-placed Real Betis.

Real Sociedad also beat Lillestrom 6-0 in their last Europa League match, so the visitors will enter this weekend's Basque derby in excellent form.

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

Real Sociedad La Liga form:

Real Sociedad form (all competitions):

Team News

Athletic will welcome Aymeric Laporte back into their squad on Sunday following a suspension, but Oihan Sancet, Gorka Guruzeta and Unai Egiluz are once again expected to be unavailable for selection through injury.

There will be multiple changes to the side that started in the Copa del Rey, with Inaki Williams and Nico Williams among those set to return to the XI.

However, there could again be a spot through the middle for Maroan Sannadi, who scored his first goal of the campaign in the cup fixture with Prat.

As for Real Sociedad, Alvaro Odriozola and Luken Beitia are once again set to miss out through injury, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape.

Orri Oskarsson has scored in each of his last three appearances for Real Sociedad and is once again expected to feature in the final third of the field.

There will also be another start for Mikel Oyarzabal, while Hector Fort is set to continue at right-back for the visitors.

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; Paredes, Vivian, Laporte, Berchiche; Ruiz de Galarreta, Canales; I Williams, Berenguer, N Williams; Sannadi

Real Sociedad possible starting lineup:

Remiro; Fort, Martin, Sarr, Gomez; Sucic, Gorrotxategi, Turrientes, Guedes; Oyarzabal, Oskarsson

We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Real Sociedad

This is a tricky match to call, as both sides have a lot of talent, and we are finding it difficult to predict a winner, therefore settling on a low-scoring draw in the Basque derby.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.