This weekend sees the long-awaited return of the Spanish top flight and our next preview features the clash between Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid at the San Mamés Barria as the La Liga action continues on Sunday.
Prior to the lockdown, Athletic Bilbao seemed to re-discover their form by recording back-to-back wins against Villarreal 1-0 at home and a resounding 4-1 romp on the road at Real Valladolid, but unfortunately for Bilbao, the La Liga season was put on hold shortly afterwards and they were denied from putting together a potential winning momentum.
5 días 5 día5 dí5 d5🔙 @LaLiga❗❕❗💪🏼 #VolverEsGanar🔴⚪ #AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/AbLGF17au3— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) June 9, 2020
5 días 5 día5 dí5 d5🔙 @LaLiga❗❕❗💪🏼 #VolverEsGanar🔴⚪ #AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/AbLGF17au3
Sunday’s hosts now face a tough return to action as they play host to Atletico Madrid and although Athletic Bilbao possess a generally solid home record which has seen them collect seven wins from their 13 home matches to date, they head into this clash having managed just one win from their previous five matches.
The goals market therefore appeals as Bilbao possess the best defensive record at home to date in La Liga (keeping seven clean sheets so far), while 11 of Athletic Bilbao’s 13 home matches overall have resulted in under 2.5 goals.
Onto Atletico Madrid and the visitors will be hoping they can now press on with their plans of achieving a top four spot in La Liga as they look to extend their existing five-match unbeaten run in Sunday’s trip to Athletic Bilbao.
Victories at home over Granada 1-0 and Villarreal 3-1 have been tempered by three draws from these previous five matches as Atletico have had to make do with sharing the points in stalemates with Valencia, Espanyol and Sevilla, and this has resulted in Atletico Madrid slipping down to an unfamiliar 6th place on the La Liga ladder.
Indeed, Atletico Madrid are currently La Liga’s ‘draw specialists’ as the visitors have been involved in no fewer than 12 draws within their total of 27 matches played to date this term, while seven of their 13 away matches have also ended in stalemate.
Consequently, the prevalence of draws on the road have contributed to low-scoring affairs as 11 of Atletico Madrid’s 13 away matches have resulted in under 2.5 goals being scored.
To sum up, two solid defences will face each other this Sunday evening and a low-scoring affair could unfold here.