One of La Liga’s most in-form teams will be hoping to extend their impressive run of results when they face a side with Champions League aspirations on Sunday.
Having won four of their last five league matches, Villarreal travel to San Manes to take on Athletic Bilbao, who sit just two points outside the top four.
Can the visitors extend their hot streak? Or will the hosts enhance their UCL bid? Read on to find out what Forebet’s predictive analytics model forecasts.
🖼️ Para enmarcar.#UniqueInTheWorld 🏆 #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/ZKGSiI8IW8— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) April 8, 2024
🖼️ Para enmarcar.#UniqueInTheWorld 🏆 #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/ZKGSiI8IW8
Last weekend, Athletic Bilbao lifted the Copa del Rey trophy in Seville thanks to a penalty shootout victory over Mallorca.
However, the Basque Country outfit will need to discover some consistency in La Liga if they are to break into the Champions League places before the end of the season.
Athletic have recorded four wins, three draws and three losses across their last 10 league games, underlining the team’s struggle for consistency.
Still, there is no hiding the fact that Ernesto Valverde’s side have avoided defeat in each of their previous 18 home matches across all competitions.
As for Villarreal, they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid last time out, although they enjoyed a nine-game unbeaten streak prior to that loss.
Following a run of one win and four draws, the Yellow Submarine notched four successive victories, scoring 12 goals in the process (3 goals per game).
Villarreal have also won three of their last four away league outings, scoring over 2.5 goals in each of those victories, despite conceding a total of six goals.
Given that Villarreal have conceded 27 goals in 14 away league games this season (1.9 goals per game), Athletic look destined to find the back of the net this weekend.
Head-to-head: Athletic Bilbao have enjoyed plenty of success in this fixture in recent years, losing just one of their last 10 La Liga meetings with Villarreal.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Basque Country outfit have only lost two of their previous 13 league matches against the Yellow Submarine.
Team news: The hosts are currently without Yeray Alvarez due to injury, while Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta will miss Sunday’s clash through suspension.
On the flip side, Villarreal’s injury list features the quintet of Eric Bailly, Yeremy Pino, Pepe Reina, Denis Suarez and Ramon Terrats.
When you couple Athletic’s strong home record with Villarreal’s poor defensive record on the road, all the signs point towards a comfortable home win on Sunday.
Forebet predicts that Athletic Bilbao will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to sinking the Yellow Submarine.