Athletic Bilbao captain Joseba Etxeberria admits his side can ill afford another setback this weekend as the Basque side try to fight their way out of the relegation zone.

Athletic could hardly be in a worse run of form, losing each of their last five league games and having recorded just one Primera Liga victory in their last 11 outings stretching back to last season.

That sequence of results has left Athletic in the bottom two of the division and Etxeberria believes a three-point haul from their trip to Real Mallorca is absolutely crucial for both their league placing and morale.

“We know by winning this game the situation would change because the team will recover a lot of confidence. It could be a very important turning point for the upcoming matches,” he said.

“We know for us it is like a final and we cannot go another week without winning.

“It is an opportunity for us and the team has to be ready to give their all and win the game.”

Athletic’s poor run has seen the spotlight fall firmly on under-pressure coach Joaquin Caparros, but former Spain international Etxeberria is adamant the players are behind their coach.

“It`s clear that in critical times all eyes are focused on the coach, but at this point we don’t see that his position is being questioned and he is working with total normality because he has the trust of his players 100%,” Etxeberria added.

Caparros has named the same 18-man squad that lost 4-1 at home to Villarreal last weekend for the trip to the Balearic Islands, meaning Fran Yeste and Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora have been passed fit but defender Fernando Amorebieta continues to be absent.

Mallorca’s season has been one of ups and downs so far, with the team yet to string more than two wins together at any one time.

They can consider themselves unfortunate not to have taken anything out of last weekend’s trip to Atletico Madrid though, producing a fine second-half display only to find themselves with too much to do to overturn Sergio Aguero’s early brace for the hosts.

Mallorca will fancy their chances of picking up a three-point haul this weekend, but coach Gregorio Manzano is taking nothing for granted.

“Athletic are on a bad run, but they will come here and fight, so it will be a hard game and we need to be at our best to win the points,” he said.

“We cannot go onto the pitch thinking about where Athletic are in the standings. It is wrong to think that just because a team is below another team it will be an easy game, because it doesn’t work like that.”

Manzano has named an 18-man squad for the game, including former Athletic striker Aritz Aduriz who was surprisingly sold by the Basque side to Mallorca this summer.

Also included are Cleber Santana and Jurado, who were unable to play against Atletico due to being on loan from the Rojiblancos.

Goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya misses out through injury and Ayoze Diaz, Juan Miguel Callejon and Alhassane Keita have been omitted.