Athletic Bilbao host Real Betis Saturday at San Mames as two mid-table strugglers seek to kickstart the final stretch of the season with wins.
The Basque club are unbeaten in four straight games and returned to the Primera after the Covid-19 break with a 2-2 draw versus derby rival Eibar. Athletic Club are in line to win the Copa del Rey as a date with Real Sociedad will be set at a later date.
Real Betis are just nine points above the relegation places and with nine games left to play have the potential to be relegated. Verdiblancos have underachieved this season with inconsistent play. Just one of their last six matches in the Primera ended in a win.
Rubi’s team are coming off of a 2-2 draw with Granada in the return to the La Liga season. That draw was a significant positive especially with the teams in the bottom three all dropping points.
When Athletic Bilbao visited the Estadio Benito Villamarin earlier this season, Real Betis came away 3-2 winners. Real Betis legend Joaquin scored a first-half hat-trick that took just 20 minutes to complete.
Athletic Bilbao nearly came back scoring a 44th-minute penalty through Inaki Williams while Yuri Berchiche bagged a goal in the second half. Still, Athletic Club came up short in the fixture.
The home team are unbeaten in seven of the last eight matches played between Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis. Los Verdiblancos have not won at San Mames since the 2012-13 season when they tallied 5-3 victory. Will Saturday’s trip to the Basque Country end in a first victory in seven attempts?
Real Betis have won just once this season away from the Estadio Benito Villamarin. The club have been woeful and their last two away fixtures both ended in losses. Goalscoring has been a problem for Rubi’s team as only 11 away goals have been tallied.
Athletic Bilbao are unbeaten in back to back home games. Their defence under manager Gaizka Garitano has been nearly flawless at San Mames. Just eight goals have been conceded in 14 matches. They allow just 0.57 goals per match at home.
Although Williams gets all the plaudits at Athletic Club, it is teammate Raul Garcia that leads the team in goals. Garcia has scored 10 times for 31% of the Lions’ goals. Joaquin leads Real Betis in goals with eight. Three of those strikes came against Athletic Club in their previous match.
Will Saturday’s game be high scoring like in their previous meeting? The two clubs were able to find the net with joy last time out, but Athletic Club do have a great defence at home.