No win in the derby again for Bilbao?
In the Basque derby, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad face each other. The prestigious clash is taking place for the 150th time at league level and with 59 wins since the first edition 112 years ago, Bilbao are slightly ahead (59-39-51). In league action, the record to date is again narrowly in favour of the visitors.
“La Real” are in sixth place, while the home side are in eighth, despite having played one game more than the visitors. In addition, a run of four unbeaten league games ended for the home “Lions” last weekend with a defeat in Mallorca.
Athletic Bilbao – Statistics & current form
With Unai Simon, Bilbao normally have a very strong goalkeeper between the posts, but on the last matchday, the Spanish national goalkeeper put his team on the losing track with an own goal shortly before the end of the match in Mallorca.
The three goals conceded on the last matchday at 2:3 can also be explained to a certain extent by the strained personnel situation at the eight-time champions, last in 1984. For example, 32-year-old Bilbao veteran Oscar de Marcos is currently absent from defence due to injury. At least defensive teammate Inigo Martinez can return to the squad after his card suspension on the last matchday. This should make the Red and Whites’ defence more stable again.
Only three teams concede fewer goals than Bilbao
The back line is also the showpiece of coach Marcelino Garcia’s team: Only the upcoming opponents and the two top teams at the top of the table, Real Madrid and Sevilla, concede fewer goals than last year’s tenth-placed team.
At the same time, the home side’s attack is average at best, so the Leones’ games are low-scoring: only 1.9 goals have been scored on average per league game so far. This is the lowest value in La Liga! At least in the home games, however, the value rises to 2.5 and is thus average.
Predicted line-up of Athletic Bilbao:
Simon – Nunez – Vivian – Balenziaga – Lekue Martinez – Muniain – Vesga – Garcia – Zarraga – Sancet – Garcia
Last matches played by Athletic Bilbao:
LaLiga
02/14 2022 – Mallorca 3 – 2 Athletic Bilbao
Copa del Rey
02/10 2022 – Athletic Bilbao 1 – 1 Valencia
LaLiga
02/07 2022 – Athletic Bilbao 2 – 1 Espanyol
Copa del Rey
02/03 2022 – Athletic Bilbao 1 – 0 Real Madrid
LaLiga
01/23 2022 – Rayo Vallecano 0 – 1 Athletic Bilbao
Real Sociedad – Statistics & current form
Real Sociedad have yet to lose a league game in 2022. Instead, they have recorded two wins and three draws. Admittedly, the tasks in these matches were limited from a playful point of view, as they were exclusively against lower-placed teams and also real basement children such as Alaves or Granda.
Furthermore, the offensive continues to be restrained: Only four goals were scored in the aforementioned review. At least, however, Brazilian Rafinha was able to celebrate his first goal for the white-blue team in the recent victory against Granada.
The central midfielder was brought in on loan from Ligue 1 side PSG during the winter break and is well versed in Spanish football, having signed for Iberian clubs Barcelona and Celta Vigo during his career.
Defence not as solid away as at home
While the offence is lacklustre, the defence can be said to be of high quality, as it is with the upcoming opponents. As mentioned, only the runners-up from Sevilla and first from Madrid concede fewer goals in the top flight of Spanish football. However, the assessment of a stable defence applies mainly to the home games of the fifth-placed team of the past season.
This can be seen from the fact that 15 of the 21 goals conceded this season were conceded away from home! In view of this, the odds on Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad are
the odds on both sides scoring are also of interest. A course of play, moreover, that has already been observed in almost two-thirds of the home side’s eleven league home games.
More than two goals in the course of the game?
You can also bet on more than 2.5 goals. As described, the average value of goals scored by the home side in their home games increases significantly and this also applies to Real’s away games.
While only one of the twelve home games of the visitors ended with at least three goals and with 1.3 goals per home game they clearly have the lowest value in the league-wide comparison, more than twice as many goals are scored in the away games of Sociedad – specifically 2.7 goals!
Predicted line-up of Real Sociedad:
Remiro – Elustondo – Le Normand – Gorosabel – Munoz – Merino – Zubimendi – Januzaj – Oyarzabal – Silva – Isak
Last matches played by Real Sociedad:
Europa League Final Stage
02/17 2022 – RB Leipzig 2 – 2 San Sebastian
LaLiga
02/13 2022 – San Sebastian 2 – 0 Granada
02/06 2022 – Valencia 0 – 0 San Sebastian
Copa del Rey
02/03 2022 – San Sebastian 0 – 4 Real Betis
LaLiga
01/23 2022 – San Sebastian 0 – 0 Getafe
Athletic Bilbao – Real Sociedad Direct comparison / H2H record
The last head-to-head encounter took place last October and ended in a 1-1 draw. Thanks to the draw, the visitors have remained unbeaten in five La Liga comparisons and the 2020 Copa del Rey final in this pairing (3-2-0). Bilbao have also won just one of their last four home games against RSSS (1-1-2).
Athletic Bilbao – Real Sociedad Tip
For the Basque derby between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, betting on a draw seems promising. A real favourite cannot be identified and the last two duels already ended in a draw.
Although the visitors are currently a little stronger than the home side, they will be a little more tired due to the extra game in the Europa League against RB Leipzig (2:2) last Thursday evening, which also involved a lot of travelling.
In addition, they will already have the upcoming return match against the Messestädter next week in the back of their minds. In addition, the performances of coach Imanol Alguacil’s team are generally weaker away from home than in front of the home crowd.
Among other things, the “Txuri-Urdin” concede more than two-thirds of their goals in away matches.
