Athletic Bilbao Vs Villarreal
Sunday, 1st March 2020 – 13:00 Kick-Off
Spanish La Liga
Pick: Villarreal or Draw (Double Chance)
Odds: 3/5
Bookmaker: MarathonBet
(All betting odds displayed were correct at time of writing: 26th February 2020 at 09:00 GMT)
Preview: An ideal opportunity for Villarreal to put last week’s defeat – only a second in their past ten league games – behind them as they travel to San Mames seeking to exploit Athletic Bilbao‘s current woes, with the home side without a win in La Liga since the beginning of December.
Spanish La Liga Betting at 22Bet
Table of Contents
Athletic Bilbao Preview – Desperate times for San Mames faithful?
Quite how Athletic Bilbao (11th – W7 D10 L8) find themselves as favourites for any clash right now, let alone one against a very dangerous opponent who have been enjoying something of a mid-season renaissance, is mystifying to me. Gaizka Garitano’s team are in the midst of some truly abysmal form having failed to win in the league since the start of December, when a 2-0 scoreline at home to Granada represented their fourth win in five games.
However, there has been some stark deterioration with their results in the period thereafter. A late goal conceded away to Deportivo Alaves a week ago – this after the club’s leading scorer for the season, Rudi Garcia, struck his seventh goal of the campaign to hand them some early impetus – marked a fourth consecutive La Liga defeat whilst extending a seemingly never-ending wait for a win in the league to ten matches (D5 L5).
Not only would points almost completely dry up over the previous three months but goals, too, have become more and more of a rarity. It is now a miserly seven goals scored across their current ten-game barren patch, failing to net more than once in any of the last nine and none at all in three of the previous four played out at San Mames. A ground that has seen them collect six of their seven league victories in 2019-20 (W6 D3 L3), despite failing to win at home in four (D2 L2).
Villarreal Preview – Yellow Submarine boast the necessary firepower to sink hosts?
There was bitter disappointment at the WANDA Metropolitano during the last round in La Liga, as Villarreal (7th – W11 D5 L9) let myself and, probably more importantly, themselves down by losing 3-1 to Atletico Madrid. Not that there is any shame in succumbing to a defeat away to Diego Simone’s men. What it was, however, was a missed opportunity to claim a big result against a team in direct competition with themselves for a top-four berth.
Having backed The Yellow Submarine to continue their excellent recent run of results by at least picking up a point last time out, I couldn’t help but feel deflated when Javier Calleja’s team failed to build on a bright start to proceedings. Paco Alcacer’s superb volleyed effort handing them the early initiative only for their performance to subsequently petter out, struggling to create any chance of note in the remainder of the contest.
Villarreal arrived in Madrid in tip-top shape, though, winning six of eight prior league games (W6 D1 L1) which included three successful road outings (W3 D1). So while last week was naturally disappointing, it is far from panic stations, with this team performing well enough of late to warrant more patience. That means they could be primed for investment once again, with their 100% trend for scoring in all 13 away matches so far auguring well ahead of facing a team whose goals have dried up.
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Athletic Bilbao Vs Villarreal Betting Advice
Bookmakers don’t tend to get it wrong too often, and this could be one of those moments where I look the fool instead of them, however, Athletic Bilbao should never be favourites here even if they are odds-against. The team from Basque Country are in rotten form with no win from their last ten La Liga contests. That includes the last four staged at San Mames, scoring a grand total of one goal there in four hours of football.
Athletic Bilbao Vs Villarreal – Key Facts
- Across their previous ten games in La Liga, Athletic Bilbao claimed five out of a possible 30 points, won zero times and scored just seven goals.
- Despite losing last time out, Villarreal still find themselves in decent form having picked up six wins from their last nine matches in La Liga (W6 D1 L2).
- After a 0-0 draw was contested in this season’s reverse fixture, Villarreal have now lost only one of the past six encounters versus Athletic Bilbao (W2 D3 L1), with one of two victories in this sequence a 3-0 scoreline at San Mames last season.
Last week’s loss at Atletico Madrid was deserved for Villarreal, but it was also against arguably the best defensive outfit in the country. Athletic Bilbao’s defensive numbers are up there with the very best in fairness. Yet their lack of threat in front of goal means it may only take a single moment to decide this contest – and Villarreal have scored a minimum of one goal in all thirteen away matches this season.
Best Betting Odds for Athletic Bilbao Vs Villarreal
Athletic Bilbao – 29/20 (WilliamHill)
Draw – 23/10 (Betway)
Villarreal – 21/10 (Bet365)
