Athletic Bilbao vs Real Betis
Spanish La Liga
Date: Thursday, 27th April 2017
Kick-off at 20:30 UK / 21:30 CET
Venue: Estadio San Mames (Bilbao).
Athletic’s season was shaping up to be a disappointing one, particularly when they exited the Europa League in disappointing circumstances in Cyprus. However that has really helped them focus on La Liga and they’ve found some form in recent months and look more than capable of winning this match.
The Basques are now very well placed to qualify for the Europa League, following a key 1-0 win at local rivals Eibar on Monday. They moved up to 6th as a result but have Sociedad hot on their heels so can’t really afford a slip-up here. Luckily for them their home record is exceptional. Athletic have won 71% of their home games in La Liga this season, taking 2.29 points per game at San Mames on average. Their only two league defeats have come against Barcelona and Real Madrid and they’ve tended to put away sides from mid-table down with relative ease.
Athletic have won 7 of their last 8 home games in all competitions and there’s not really anything about Betis to suggest they will cause an upset here. The Andalusians did win at Celta Vigo at the weekend but their opponents weren’t at full strength with a firm eye on their Europa League campaign. Their overall away record this season is poor. Betis have lost 69% of their away games in La Liga, taking just 0.81 points per game on the road. Prior to their trip to Balaidos, they’d lost 9 out of 11 away games in all competitions.
Therefore a home win looks virtually guaranteed here but the odds are short as you might expect. To get more value, it’s definitely worth adding a ‘Both Teams to Score’ leg in. Both teams have netted in a huge 71% of Athletic home games and 62% of Betis away games this term. Betis have scored in all of their last 7 away matches, but still lost 4 of those games. They scored only once in 6 of those 7 matches and given Athletic average 1.94 goals per game at home, one is unlikely to be enough to get a result here.
Therefore backing Athletic to Win & Both Teams to Score at 21/10 looks to offer great value.
Athletic Bilbao vs Real Betis: Head-to-head
Betis managed a narrow win when they met Bilbao earlier this season. However, they lost four consecutive matches to the Los Leones prior to that.
At San Mames, Bilbao won their last three matches against Betis. But the men in green and white had a mini success when they bagged back-to-back wins in two visits prior to that.
Athletic Bilbao vs Real Betis: Prediction
It is a tough ask for any team to come to San Mames and get away with a point. Bilbao are on excellent form altogether and could definitely tear apart Betis in some style.
Athletic Bilbao vs Real Betis: Bet Tips
BTTS and Bilbao to win at 3.00.
