Veteran striker Raul Garcia will make his 550th La Liga appearance if he features for Athletic Club in Saturday’s game against his old club Atletico Madrid.He would equal the legendary Real Madrid goalscorer Raul Gonzales in the third spot of the all-time La Liga appearances chart, below the famous goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta (622 games) and Betis’ icon Joaquin with 596 matches. The long-serving midfielder-come-striker won the title with Atleti in 2014 in what was the highlight of his career, but it’s not so say that he hasn’t been excellent since.🦁 When Raul Garcia hit this one for @Athletic_en, it 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘁.🗑️ Top bins.#AthleticLevante pic.twitter.com/yAjOsHXjej— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) March 7, 2022 After becoming a professional during the 2004/05 season with Osasuna, Garcia quickly became a highly-respected player in Spain. Of the 549 games he has played so far in the top flight, he has played 101 with Osasuna, 216 with Atletico de Madrid and the last 232 with Athletic. The story continues!Atletico Madrid will be bidding to strengthen their grip on a top-four spot at San Mames. Diego Simeone’s side are currently fourth in the table, four points clear of fifth-placed Real Betis, while Athletic occupy eighth, seven points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad in the race for a European finish.Athletic will enter Saturday’s contest after a 3-2 victory at Cadiz last time out. Marcelino’s side sits eighth in the table, now just four points behind seventh-placed Villarreal, but they are seven points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, so a Europa League spot looks beyond them.In this week’s episode of Aaron’s Corner, @oeste takes a closer look at @Athletic_en! 🦁❤️#LaLigaAmerica pic.twitter.com/UozgEwioBW— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) April 28, 2022 The Basque outfit have not finished higher than eighth in Spain’s top flight since 2017, so seventh would certainly be a big step in the right direction, and they will fancy their chances of picking up a respectable amount of points in their final five games of the campaign.Los Colchoneros have actually only won one of their last four league meetings with Athletic, suffering a 2-1 loss in the corresponding match last term, while the two teams played out a goalless draw at Wanda Metropolitano earlier this season.LA LIGAFriday22.00: (1.79) Sevilla (3.60) Cadiz (5.60)Saturday15.00: (3.50) Alaves (3.35) Villareal (2.30)17.15: (1.56) Real Madrid (4.40) Espanyol (6.75)19.30: (2.40) Valencia (3.35) Levante (3.30)22.00: (3.15) Ath.Bilbao (3.05) Atl.Madrid (2.65)Sunday15.00: (3.00) Elche (3.05) Osasuna (2.75)17.15: (2.90) Granada (3.10) Celta (2.60)19.30: (3.20) Rayo Vallecano (3.10) Sociedad (2.45)22.00: (1.35) Barcelona (5.30) Mallorca (8.00)Monday22.00: (2.81) Getafe (2.90) Betis (2.90)***odds are subject to change
