Betis – Ath Bilbao Prediction & Preview and Betting Tips (22.12.2017)

Real Betis and Athletic Club face at Estadio Benito Villamarín, in a match for the 17th round of the Primera División. The record of direct matches played in this stadium indicates total balance between these two teams, since there was 1 draw and 2 wins for each team in the last 5 matches. But the last time these two teams met in this stadium was on 11-12-2016, for the First Division, which ended with the victory of Real Betis by (1-0). Rubén Castro (18 ‘) scored the only goal of the match.

Real Betis:

The home team is currently in the 8 th position of the league, with 21 points won, after 6 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost in a home match against Atlético Madrid, by (0-1). In the last match, they won an away match against Málaga by (0-2). In the last 8 home league matches Real Betis has a record of 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses, so they have won 14 points out of 24 possible. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition, so it has not been very strong defensively. In their home matches for this competition there is a tendency for goals, since 6 of the last 8 matches have ended with Over 2,5 goals. In 16 matches in this competition, they have only won 1 of the 9 matches they suffered in the first goal. In the last 10 away matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have scored 9 of their 20 goals between minutes (76’-90 ‘).

The Betis enters the field for this game a little more relieved, having managed to rediscover the path of victory for the Spanish league, thus interrupting a fast that lasted six days, a period in which he suffered four defeats. On the occasion, had a great performance away from home against Malaga, and even finishing almost half of the time of the opponent, managed to leave the field with three points. The local team owns the fourth worst defense of the competition, but in return it has the sixth best attack, although it is the third club that least finishes in the championship. Playing in their domains, Betis owns the sixth best campaign and in that condition has one of the four best attacks. The 4-1-4-1 has been the standard formation used by the coach, which should not make major changes to the starting eleven.

Athletic Club:

The away team is currently in the 14 th position of the league, with 18 points won, after 4 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses. In the penultimate match, they won in an away match against Levante, by (1-2). In the last match, they tied at home against Real Sociedad by (0-0). For the league, Athletic Club won 8 points out of 24 possible points, after 2 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses in the last 8 away matches. Defensive consistency has not been their best feature, as they have conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 16 matches in this tournament, he suffered the first goal 7 times and never got the comeback.

Athletic Bilbao has not been doing a good campaign in this edition of the Spanish championship, but at least it has not lost a long time ago, having accumulated four draws and one victory in the last five days. In his last match, he failed many passes and failed to create a good volume of scoring opportunities, conquering only a goalless draw at home against Real Sociedad. As was evident on this last day, the great problem of the team has been the inefficiency of the offensive system, which failed to balance the adversary network on six occasions, and is now among the seven worst in the competition. As a visitor, he conquered one third of the points he played and in that condition he has a reasonable offensive performance. The coach must organize the team in 4-2-3-1 or in 4-4-1-1, with highlight for Núñez in the defense.