Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction & Match Preview

Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao
Spain – LaLiga
Date: Sunday, 8 December 2019
Kick-off at 13:00 UK/ 14:00 CET
Venue: Estadio Benito Villamarín (Sevilla).

After inconsistent performances in several match-days in a row, Betis have started to slowly turn things around. They won their last two league encounters, one of which was against Valencia. This Sunday, they will try their best to make it three La Liga wins in a row, but the arrival of Bilbao (who have lost just once in the last ten match-days), will surely make things complicated.

Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao Head-to-head (h2h)

• Eight of the former nine wins went to the Basque outfit.
• Eight of the previous eleven encounters saw Bilbao scoring two or more goals.
• In the last seven years, Betis have managed a total of one league win.
• Three of the former four wins at this venue went to the guests.
• Four of the previous six meetings at this ground saw Betis conceding two or more goals.

Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction

Betis were on the road the last match-day against newly-promoted Mallorca. Desperate for a win, the guests right away found the back of the net in the 7th minute, and added one more in the 33rd. The hosts did hit one back later in the second half, but the visiting backline defended well to hold their slender lead, and thus win 1-2.

Athletic Bilbao meanwhile recorded a 2-0 win at home over Granada the previous game week. Both goals came towards the end of each half.

To deduce the result of the upcoming encounter, consider how both teams have fared in recent h2h matches. Bilbao have easily been the dominant one with them registering eight of the former nine such wins. They also scored two or more goals in eight of the last eleven fixtures, and have lost just once to Betis in league games since 2012.

At this venue, the guests registered three of the last four such wins, and scored twice or more in four of their previous six visits. Importantly, in the last 12 years, Betis have won just twice in league battles against this opponent.

Moreover, consider that Bilbao are on a streak of four wins this season, scoring twice or more in all those games. Going back, they have also remained unbeaten in 18 of their preceding 21 overall games, and have lost just twice this whole season on the road.

As such, count on the guests, Athletic Bilbao, to avoid a loss at the least this Sunday.

However, Real Betis do have the home advantage, and they are slowly on the rise after an unimpressive start to their campaign. They have found the back of the net in 12 of their last 15 overall match-ups, and in 21 of their last 22 at home.

Taking into account these observations, it’s concluded that Bilbao might not be good prospect to keep a clean sheet this match-day, and thus BTTS emerges as a promising bet.

Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Tips

• Double Chance: Athletic Bilbao or Draw @ 1.60 (3/5)

• Both Teams to Score @ 1.90 (9/10).