Athletic Bilbao vs Anderlecht
Athletic Bilbao
Anderlecht
vs
Thursday 18th February 2010
Venue: San Mames
Kick-off: 20:05
Score: 1 - 1
Suarez targets early strike
Anderlecht striker Matias Suarez has stressed the importance of getting an away goal from their Europa League last-32 trip to Athletic Bilbao - preferably early enough to help silence the partisan home supporters at San Mames.
Anderlecht enjoyed a memorable victory in their last away match in Europe, defeating Dutch giants Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam in December to finish top of Group A.
The Belgian outfit raced into a 3-0 lead by half-time in that encounter, and Suarez admits one or two early goals at Bilbao's famously vociferous 'La Catedral' (The Cathedral) home would be ideal as well.
"The atmosphere, depending on how the game goes, could play either in our favour or against us. We'll see. If we score early, the situation will change and the home fans will demand more of their team and forget about us," the Argentinian said in El Correo newspaper.
"The majority of the time we are used to playing in front of full stadiums in Belgium, although it's true that there are never 40,000 fans. We are good away from home though, I don't think it will affect us.
"Scoring at San Mames is fundamental," added Suarez, who does not believe playing the second leg at home will necessarily be an advantage for his side.
"I'm not so sure. Both games are going to be 'finals' and they will not be easy."
Anderlecht make the trip to northern Spain looking to bounce back from a rare setback in their last match, going down 2-1 at home to Sint-Truiden a fortnight ago.
That was only the third defeat the Brussels-based club have suffered in 20 games, of which 16 have been won.
Despite that loss though, Ariel Jacobs' side still boast a seven-point lead over second-placed Club Brugge at the top of the Jupiler Pro League with a game in hand as Saturday's clash against Charleroi was postponed.
Athletic also return to European action on the back of a domestic defeat after going down 2-1 to Villarreal at the weekend.
That was the Basque club's third defeat in their last four matches, but those were all away from home and their last three games at San Mames have all ended in victories.
