Athletic Bilbao hosts Sevilla on July 9, 2020, in a match that has European competition implications. The home team is looking to stay in the Europa League race while the visitors are trying to solidify their hold of a Champions League spot. With a lot on the line here, we are expecting a competitive match from both sides.
This game will air live via beIN Sports at 4:00 pm EST.
Heading to matchday 35, Athletic Bilbao sits on 8th place in the Spanish La Liga table with 48 points and is the first team of out the European positions. Athletic has a total of 48 points from a record of 12-12-10. They are six points behind fifth-place Villareal, five points away from sixth place Getafe, and three points behind 7th place Real Sociedad.
In their last assignment last Sunday, Athletic Bilbao dropped a 0-1 loss to Real Madrid. It was a sorry defeat for Athletic who had more chances in the match. However, a penalty by Sergio Ramos in the 73rd minute gave Real Madrid the win and all three points. Athletic has won thrice with two draws and two losses since the season resumed.
Raul Garcia leads the team with a total of 13 goals on the season. Inaki Williams has found the back of the net six times while Iker Muniain has netted five times for Athletic. Ander Capa has four assists and two goals while Unai Lopez and Inigo Cordoba also have four assists each for Athletic Bilbao.
Bilbao is the third-best defensive team in La Liga with only a total of 29 goals conceded this season. They are ranked 13th in scoring with a total of 38 goals on the year. Athletic’s +9 goal difference is 7th best in Spain while their total of 22 assists on the season is tied for 13th overall.
Sevilla FC is currently the 4th best team in the Spanish top flight. Sevilla has a record of 16-12-6 and has earned a total of 60 points during those matches. Right now, they occupy the final Champions League spot and they are six points ahead of fifth-place Villareal, seven better than 7th place Getafe, and are also just two points behind third-place Atletico Madrid.
In their last outing, Sevilla had a tough time disposing of relegation candidate Eibar. The teams played to a scoreless first half but then Lucas Ocampos connected off a Jesus Navas cross in the 56th minute to break the ice. That was all that Sevilla needed to take away all three points.
The goal against Eibar was Ocampos’ 13th of the year, the most by any player on the team. Luuk de Jong has found the back of the net six times while Munir El Haddadi has four goals scored this term. Navas leads the team with a total of seven assists on the year while Ever Banega has six assists and two goals scored.
Sevilla is ranked 4th in the Spanish top flight with a goal difference of +16. They are ranked fifth in scoring with a total of 49 goals this season and are also 5th in defense at 33 goals conceded. Sevilla is tied for 4th place in passing with a total of 33 assists on the season.
Raul Garcia picked up another card against Madrid last weekend and he will serve the automatic suspension. Because of that, it’s likely that Oscar de Marcos will come to midfield along with Unai Lopez, and Inaki Williams leading the attack. The home team will also be without Yeray Alvarez who limped out of their last match and Inigo Martinez will likely be Unai Nunez’s partner at center back.
For Sevilla, goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik hurt his knee against Eibar and he could be out of this matchup. In his absence, Yassine Buonou could get his second start of the year. Munir El-Haddadi has scored three goals in his last three games played against Athletic Madrid so Lopetegui could opt to start him at the left of the front three.
These clubs have played in a total of 158 head to head meetings. Sevilla has a slight edge with a 65-30-63 record. These teams played to a 1-1 draw in their reverse fixture held last January 2020.
Sevilla is trying to win its sixth consecutive away game and they have not achieved that feat since Unai Emery was in charge in 2015. However, they are Athletic’s favorite opponent at San Mames as Sevilla has not won there in their last nine tries while going scoreless in five of those matches.
Athletic has Sevilla’s number at San Mames and it’s hard to ignore those numbers. I think this will be a close and competitive match and given their history, I like the value on the underdog here.
Prediction: Athletic Bilbao (+197)
Knowing that Athletic Madrid wants to climb the ladder, I expect them to play an attacking style to get the job done. Given that Sevilla is the 5th best scoring team in the league, there is a good chance that both these teams will score in this match. Both these teams have scored at least a goal in each of their last four matches. I like both to score here too.
Prediction: Both teams to score – YES (+105)
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