La Liga: European Hopefuls Tussle at San Mames

Athletic Bilbao vs Real Betis

One of the top fixtures to look forward to on the third matchday is the one between Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis, which will be held in San Mames.

Last weekend, Athletic Bilbao defeated Osasuna on the road, while Real Betis managed to get a point out of Atletico Madrid by holding them to a goalless draw.

In the 2022-23 campaign, Real Betis finished in sixth place, while Athletic Bilbao were two notches below them in eighth place.

These two sides will look to make inroads into European places this season, so valuable points are up for grabs in this high-profile La Liga game.

Talking Points

Herrera can prove his class

We won’t be surprised if Ernesto Valverde makes a raft of changes to his starting XI after last weekend’s game, as four key players were booked during their 2-0 victory against Osasuna.

Unai Simon, Inigo Lekue, and Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta were all given yellow cards, while Oihan Sancet was sent off with a red card, so he won’t be available on Sunday night.

Losing Sancet is a huge blow for Los Leones since he’s one of their most creative outlets. Operating as their No. 10, the 23-year-old was level with striker Inaki Williams with 10 league goals last season.

After a productive campaign, Athletic Bilbao deservedly signed Sancet to a massive extension that would last until 2032, which is the longest current contract in La Liga history.

With the young Spaniard sidelined, Ander Herrera will likely take his place in Valverde’s rotation, and Los Leones won’t skip a beat. The former Manchester United man, even at 34 years of age, is still a heady midfielder and a valuable leader.

Herrera will have options up front, as he will have the Williams brothers and Gorka Guruzeta running behind the defence.

Inaki Williams, Athletic Bilbao’s iron man, recorded his first entry in the La Liga 2023 highlights reel with his first goal of the season last week, and he will be a prime beneficiary with Herrera pulling the strings.

Isco is back at his best

Real Betis are in a similar situation to Athletic Bilbao in terms of manpower, which paves the way for some of their rotation players to get more minutes than usual.

If Los Leones have Ander Herrera, Los Verdiblancos have their own version of a savvy midfielder in Isco, who joined the team on a free transfer this summer after several months without playing.

The former Real Madrid man was named Man of the Match in Real Betis’ first two La Liga matches this season. Against Athletic Bilbao, he should continue to play the No. 10 role, with Ayoze Perez, Borja Iglesias, and Aitor Ruibal as his targets up front.

Isco is to be joined in midfield by Marc Roca, a loanee from Leeds United. These two are essentially filling in for the injured Nabil Fekir and William Carvalho.

History

Athletic Bilbao haven’t defeated Real Betis in the past two years, losing twice and drawing once in their last three encounters.

What makes it worse is that they failed to score in all three matches, and only once in their history have they gone four or more games without scoring against Real Betis, when their scoring drought extended through five La Liga games in February 1997 (D2, L3).

But at home, Los Leones have lost only one of their last eight La Liga games against Los Verdiblancos, which was a 1-0 result in May.

Real Betis haven’t lost any of their last four away La Liga games (W3, D1) after losing each of their previous three.

Following their 2-1 opening-day victory against Villarreal, Los Verdiblancos could start a La Liga campaign with two wins from their first two road matches for the first time in 11 years.

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP La Liga 2023 odds favour Athletic Bilbao to win at home on Sunday. The hosts are priced to win at 1.94, whereas Real Betis aren’t far behind at 3.45, and a draw is a possibility at 3.40.

Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis will be missing some key players, so this one’s a tough call. With that said, we wouldn’t be surprised if this ends in a draw.

Either way, we feel that this is going to be yet another low-scoring affair, hence our recommended bet above. If you feel like you could make more money out of this match, why not go for Total Goal 0-1 for a bigger payout of 3.20 as well?

 

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