Lokomotiv Moscow Athletic Bilbao Odds : Fernando Llorente set to fire Spanish in Europa League
There are almost 2,500 miles between Athletic Bilbao and Lokomotiv Moscow, with the two sides going head to head in one of the longest distance ties in the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday.
Its set to be freezing in Moscow, with the weather forcing the game to be moved to Luzhniki Stadium and their artificial turf.
Having topped a tricky looking Group F that included Paris SG and SV Salzburg, Bilbao will be looking to continue their run in the competition and emulate their fellow Spanish club Athletico Madrid who won it two years ago.
The closest they ever came to achieving such a feat was back in 1977 when they went all the way to the final, only to be beaten by Italian giants, Juventus.
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Their opponents, Lokomotiv Moscow do not hold such a prestigious record in European competition, but will still be keen to show what they are made of.
Russian football is of a much higher standard than many would appear to give it credit for, and it is testament to the performances of Lokomotiv this season that they find themselves in fifth place and still with a shout of winning the title.
Both of these sides have won four of their six group games in the Europa League, although Bilbao only suffered the one defeat as opposed to their opposition’s two.
However, they both lost their final game in the group stage, with Lokomotiv going down 5-3 to Anderlecht and Bilbao being beaten 4-2 to Paris SG.
The Russian Premier League is currently in the midst of its winter break, so Lokomotiv have not actually played competitively since they beat Sturm Graz 3-1 way back at the start of December.
Bilbao, though, played their last game at the weekend and will no doubt have been rocked by losing 2-1 to struggling Real Betis.
It has been a tough season for Bilbao overall, with the Basque club currently languishing in ninth place in La Liga.
Therefore, they will be hoping that it is their Europa League form that they take with them when they travel to Moscow.
