Athletic Bilbao progressed to a Copa del Rey final in 2014-2015 and look to progress further in 2015-2016. (Getty)
Athletic Bilbao finished seventh in La Liga in 2014-2015 and also was runners-up Copa del Rey, where they were humbled 3-1 by Barcelona. Athletic were undefeated in their last seven La Liga matches of 2014-2015 and had one of the top scorers in Spain. Amongst the mega stars of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona, Aritz Aduriz was the sixth leading scorer in Spain, finishing with 18 La Liga goals, 5 Copa del Rey goals, and 3 more in the Champions League. Bilbao has not been very active in the transfer market, only signing three players on free transfers: Javi Eraso, Eneko Bovada, and Gorko Elustondo.
Athletic Bilbao opens their season with three games against world champion Barcelona, including their first La Liga fixture of the season on August 23, 2015. They will also play perennial power Real Madrid within the first month of the season, with a fixture on September 23, 2015 in Bilbao. Athletic has a relative soft end to the season, with three of their last four games against bottom of the table teams from 2014-2015, but do play Sevilla on May 16, 2016 to cap the season.
Read below for La Liga schedule for Athletic Bilbao (subject to change with Europa League or Copa del Rey fixtures):
August 23, 2015: Barcelona
August 30, 2015: at Eibar
September 13, 2015: Getafe
September 20, 2015: at Villareal
September 23, 2015: Real Madrid
September 27, 2015: at Real Sociedad
October 4, 2015: Valencia
October 18, 2015: at Deportivo
October 25, 2015: Sporting Gijon
October 28, 2015: at Real Betis
November 1, 2015: Espanyol
November 8, 2015: at Granada
November 22, 2015: at Rayo Vallecano
November 29, 2015: Malaga
December 6, 2015: at Atletico Madrid
December 13, 2015: Levante
December 20, 2015: at Celta Vigo
January 3, 2016: Las Palmas
January 10, 2016: at Sevilla
January 17, 2016: at Barcelona
January 24, 2016: Eibar
January 31, 2016: at Getafe
February 7, 2016 : Villareal
February 14, 2016: at Real Madrid
February 21, 2016: Real Sociedad
February 28, 2016: at Valencia
March 2, 2016: Deportivo
March 6, 2016: at Sporting Gijon
March 13, 2016: Real Betis
March 20, 2016 : at Espanyol
April 3, 2016: Granada
April 10, 2016 : Rayo Vallecano
April 17, 2016: at Malaga
April 20, 2016: Atletico Madrid
April 24, 2016: at Levante
May 1, 2016 : Celta Vigo
May 8, 2016 : at Las Palmas
May 15, 2016: Sevilla
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