MADRID, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Athletic Club Bilbao could welcome back Spain international goalkeeper Unai Simon as it looks to take a major step towards assuring its place in the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Simon has been on the sidelines after needing an operation for a wrist ligament injury after helping Spain win the UEFA European Championship in July, but is now back in full training and was on the substitutes' bench for Athletic's 1-0 win at home to Real Sociedad in the Basque derby on Sunday.
Julen Agirrezabala has performed admirably during Simon's absence, but Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde will look to start giving game time to his No. 1 goalkeeper and Thursday's home game against Swedish side Elfsborg looks to be a good moment.
Athletic goes into the game sixth in the 36-team group, with three wins and a draw from their four matches so far in the tournament, and another win would leave it on the verge of assuring a top-eight finish.
Valverde has a full squad available and will make some changes to the side that won at the weekend, with Gorka Guruzeta, Aitor Paredes, Mikel Jauregizar and Alex Berenguer all in with a chance of starting along with Simon.
Elfsborg is currently 24th in the group, occupying the last playoff spot, but has beaten Roma and drawn with Sporting Braga this season, while narrow defeats to Galatasaray and AZ Alkmaar show it is a tough rival to break down.
If Athletic does win, it could do a favor for its neighbor, Real Sociedad, who currently sits one place below Elfsborg.
The side from San Sebastian has a difficult home match against Ajax, with the Dutch side in a similar position to Athletic on 10 points.
Sunday's defeat in Bilbao seemed to open up a divide between coach Imanol Alguacil and some players, with Imanol highly critical of his side's first-half display and striker Mikel Oyarzabal rejecting the coach's comments.
Imanol is likely to make changes to the side ahead of a key league game at home to Real Betis, but failure to win could see Real Sociedad's European adventure heading to a premature halt. ■
