Athletic Bilbao v Sevilla
Thursday 10th January 1830hrs
Football – Spain – Copa Del Rey
Pick: Athletic Bilbao
Bookmaker: Betfair
Odds:17/10 (odds taken 21.45 GMT, Wednesday 9th January)
Cope Del Rey Betting at Betfair
These two teams have recent experiences of reaching the Copa Del Rey final, only to be outdone b and it will be their intention to achieve similar again approaching the first leg of their last-16 tie. Athletic Bilbao have struggled for much of the season but got a valuable win earlier this week whilst Sevilla are still riding high in La Liga and looking to continue that good form in the cup. Continue reading for a match preview of Athletic Bilbao against Sevilla with a selected best betting tip.
Athletic Bilbao Preview
It’s been a struggle in the main for Bilbao this season, but there are signs of late that they are beginning to find a level of form and performance that we have come to expect from them. The excellent away win over Celta on Monday was their fifth game unbeaten and it’s now just one defeat in their last eight matches. It’s a far cry from the showings before this run which seen them go 11 games without a win. That led to them falling into the relegation zone but the three points gained from Monday has lifted them to fourth bottom and they will be setting their sights on climbing the table further. Attention now turns to the Copa Del Rey and Bilbao will be looking for a repeat of their final appearance back in 2015. Their cup campaign got off to as comfortable a start as they could have hoped for with an 8-0 aggregate win over La Liga bottom club Huesca. It’s bound to be a much sterner test for them over two legs against Sevilla but they come into the game in good heart.
Sevilla Preview
Sevilla may be the outsider of the clubs challenging for the title but they displayed their credentials yet again with a 1-1 draw at home to Atletico Madrid on Sunday. The result itself may not have been the one they were after but it was a performance that highlighted real potential of this squad and that they should be sticking around the top positions for a bit to come. With European football to come in the next few weeks, it’s a really positive time for the club and they can add to that with a good run in the cup. They came up just short last season when reaching the final only to be blown away by Barca. The 5-0 thrashing would have hurt but it also whetted the appetite for a return to the showpiece occasion and an attempt to go one better. They were caused more problems than they would probably have expected in the previous round against Villanovense of the third tier. Having drawn a blank away from home in the first leg, Pablo Machin managed to secure a 1-0 victory at home to set up this last-16 tie.
Athletic Bilbao v Sevilla Betting Advice
Due to the absurdities of the fixture list, this will be the first of three straight meetings between Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla, so they will be well known to each other come the second leg in a week’s time. The league game on Sunday will also be played at the San Mames and the hosts will be looking to take advantage of the home double header. Their good form has mainly been in front of their own fans with five games unbeaten. Three draws and wins over Huesca and Girona should mean confidence will be high for the visit of Sevilla. Machin’s team are also in really good form with the one defeat in their last 15 games, and that loss came in the Europa League. Indeed, the last domestic defeat came back in October away to Barcelona.
Bilbao showed in the last round how serious they were taking this competition, thrashing another top-flight side. It was a much more modest win for Sevilla, however, and they elected to rotate heavily in the previous round. It’s possible that the visitors would prefer the league points on Sunday than a win in the first leg tomorrow, in a bid to keep pace with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in La Liga. It’s hard to separate these clubs on recent form and Sevilla are riding high, however Athletic have won eight of the last nine at home to this opponent and can make home advantage count once again.
