Athletic Bilbao’s winning run came to an end on the weekend in La Liga when they suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Real Madrid and Thursday’s hosts face another tough fixture in the shape of Sevilla when the two teams meet at the San Mamés Barria.
Athletic Bilbao had previously posted back-to-back wins in the Spanish top flight with wins against Mallorca 3-1 at home and a 2-0 win away from home at Valencia, and although they lost last time out, the hosts are still just five points adrift of 6th placed Getafe.
Results and form have been generally pretty steady at home for Athletic Bilbao as they’ve W9, D4, L4 and they’ve lost just one of their last five matches at home which was against the current La Liga leaders, Real Madrid.
Earlier wins at home against Villarreal and Real Betis will give the hosts confidence here though, and they’ve already proved that they can be a match for Sevilla as they gained a solid point away from home with a 1-1 draw in the earlier corresponding fixture back in January.
Onto Sevilla, and the 4th placed side hold a valuable and comfortable looking six-point cushion above 5th placed Villarreal, prior to this midweek clash away at Athletic Bilbao and they just seem to have the matter of who finishes in 3rd spot - Sevilla or Atletico Madrid.
Sevilla bring a solid looking 11-match unbeaten sequence into this clash in Bilbao which includes a number of draws (6 in fact) while also collecting wins against Getafe, Osasuna, Real Betis, Leganes and Eibar.
The draw has also featured prominently in Sevilla’s recent matches away from home too as the visitors have drawn three of their last five matches on their ravels with stalemates at Atletico Madrid, Levante and Villarreal, and with just three wins from their last nine matches on the road in La Liga, the draw looks a fairly reasonable outcome here.
Sevilla’s first priority here will be to not lose this match and allow the likes of Villarreal and Getafe, who sit in 5th and 6th place respectively, a way back into the race for a top four finish.
The points were shared in the previous encounter between these two teams and a similar result could unfold here.