The first duel of the Árbol de Gernika Trophy between Chivas and Athletic Club is just around the corner, so we are going to tell you everything you need to know prior to the duel between the red and white squads, not without reminding you that the match will be at 12 noon central Mexican time and you will be able to watch it live on Chivas TV.
Guadalajara has played 3 preparation matches ahead of the Clausura 2023, the most recent being the 0-1 victory against Getafe. For the match against Athletic, Veljko Paunovic will be able to count on having all the players who made the trip, so the Serbian tactician will surely take the opportunity to observe most of them.
For its part, Athletic played its last friendly match on December 6 against Valladolid, a team it defeated 2-0 with goals by Guruzeta and Sancet. For the game against El Rebaño, Ernesto Valverde will not have Unai Simón, Iñaki Williams and Nico Williams, who have just recently finished their participation in the World Cup.
Did you know?
- This will be the first time that Chivas and Athletic will fill face each other.
- Guadalajara and Los Vascos are 2 of the 4 teams in the world that play with players of the same nationality.
- The team coached by Ernesto Valverde has won 8 Spanish leagues, 24 Cup titles, 3 Super Cups and on 2 occasions has been runner-up in the UEFA Cup, now known as the Europa League.
- After 14 games, Athletic is in fourth place in the Spanish League with 24 points.
- Chivas returns to Spain after a little more than 10 years; their previous stay was in the summer of 2012, when they did their preseason in Peralada, Catalonia.
- The Chiverío has played 21 matches against Spanish rivals, with a record of 7 wins, 7 draws and 7 losses.
- The first time Guadalajara faced off against a Spanish team was back in 1953, when they defeated Sporting de Gijón 3-1.
