Do the in-form Basques also score in Andalusia?

Athletic Bilbao are on course for a place in the Champions League. The Basques are currently one of the most in-form teams in the Spanish top flight. In the last ten league games, only two teams – Real and Girona – have scored more points than Bilbao in La Liga. The year 2024 kicks off for the Lions with a league clash against Sevilla FC.

Although Sevilla benefit from home advantage, the bookmakers see the Andalusian hosts as slight underdogs, which is mainly due to the recent run of form of “Los Nervionenses”. Sevilla have lost four of their last five competitive matches. If you still want to place a bet on Sevilla vs Athletic Bilbao, you can get odds of up to 3.10.

Home advantage speaks in favor of SFC. In their last 11 home games in La Liga, Sevilla have only lost once to Athletic Bilbao. If that record is tweaked, there are reasonable odds for a Sevilla vs Athletic Bilbao prediction for a point win for the Andalusian hosts

Sevilla – stats & current form

Quique Sánchez Flores should lead Sevilla FC back to success. The 58-year-old took over the reins at the struggling traditional Andalusian club almost two weeks ago. Quique celebrated a successful debut with a 3:0 win at Granada FC. In the following league match against Atlético Madrid, however, the new SFC coach suffered his first defeat

Sevilla lost the match in Madrid 0:1 and thus conceded their eighth defeat of the current season. The Andalusian club have conceded five of these eight league defeats on foreign soil. At home, on the other hand, Sevilla have a record of 2-4-3, with only one defeat in their last seven home games at league level.

It remains to be seen whether that run of form at home will continue under Quique, as Bilbao, one of the most in-form teams in the table, will be the visitors on matchday 19. The only encouraging thing ahead of the match against Bilbao is their recent record: SFC have not lost a league encounter against the Basques since May 2021

Will there be the next points under Quique?

Considering how strong Sevilla FC have been in the last two matchdays, it is quite obvious that they will score against the in-form Lions from the Basque Country. Sevilla only narrowly missed out on a point against Atlético Madrid. The only problem was the lack of chances.

Los Nervionenses’ offense is a construction site anyway. Sevilla have only scored 23 goals in 18 league games – an average of just 1.28 goals per match. It therefore remains to be seen how SFC will fare against the Basque side’s defensive bulwark. Head coach Quique still has some personnel worries for the upcoming league game.

Up to nine players may be missing against Bilbao due to injury. No major changes are expected to the starting eleven that narrowly missed out on a point against Atlético Madrid. With five goals to his name, Youssef En-Nesyri is currently the top scorer for the Red & Whites.

Predicted Sevilla line-up:

Athletic Bilbao – Statistics & current form

Athletic Bilbao are shaking up La Liga. The Basques are one of the positive surprises of the current season and have found their winning ways, especially in the final spurt of the first half of the season. Since losing 1-0 to FC Barcelona almost two months ago, Bilbao have not lost any of their last ten competitive matches.

The Basques want to continue their run of success in the new year. In the last two league games, they have not only picked up six points against teams such as Atlético Madrid and UD Las Palms. Bilbao also kept a clean sheet in these two matches, once again underlining the defensive qualities in their ranks.

With only 19 goals conceded in 18 matchdays, the “Lehoiak” have one of the best defenses in the league. Only three league rivals have conceded fewer goals than the Basque side’s defensive bulwark. It is quite possible that Bilbao will underpin these defensive qualities against Sevilla FC as well

Bilbao difficult to assess away from home

The Basques have won just three of their eight league games away from home. In the last five away games at league level, there has only been one win to celebrate. Nevertheless, if you want to venture a prediction on the visitors from the Basque country for Sevilla vs Athletic Bilbao, you can get odds of up to 2.40 in the event of success.

There have been two consecutive draws on foreign soil recently. After the draw against in-form FC Girona (1:1), Bilbao also picked up just one point away from home against FC Granada (1:1). In the draw against Granada, Bilbao at least continued their run away from home, scoring for the fifth time in a row in an away game.

The Basque side are expected to have three players out through injury against Sevilla. There are no other personnel worries for the Lions.

Athletic Bilbao’s probable line-up:

Sevilla – Athletic Bilbao head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The two clubs meet for the 167th time. Sevilla lead the H2H against the Basques with a record of 70-31-65. The Andalusians are unbeaten in their last four encounters with Bilbao. Sevilla have even won three of those four matches.

Since October 2020, betting on under 2.5 goals has paid off in every league clash between Sevilla vs Athletic Bilbao. Betting on that is by no means absurd this time either. After all, Bilbao have one of the best defenses in the league table

Sevilla – Athletic Bilbao betting tip

Sevilla are dependent on every point in the current table situation. Since the change of manager almost two weeks ago, SFC have made a positive impression and even celebrated their first win under Quique. However, they suffered a bitter defeat against Atlético Madrid in their second league game, their eighth defeat in La Liga 2023/24.

The only encouraging thing ahead of the league clash against the in-form Basques is their recent H2h. Sevilla are unbeaten in their last four league games against Bilbao. Los Nervionenses have even won three of those four matches

We tend to bet on under 2.5 goals in the upcoming match between Sevilla vs Athletic Bilbao. Betting on this has already paid off in the last five H2hs. What’s more, Bilbao have one of the best defenses in the league anyway. It is quite possible that these defensive qualities will be underpinned against SFC. We use five units for our prediction