Athletic Bilbao welcome struggling Alaves to San Mames Barria for a Spanish La Liga clash on Sunday. The hosts will be counting on their home form in the league and should have the upper hand over the visitors, who are battling near the bottom of the table.
Bilbao return to domestic action aiming to bounce back from their UEFA Europa League heartbreak following a 4-1 defeat at Manchester United. A 7-1 aggregate loss will be disappointing for Ernesto Valverde’s men especially with the final at San Mames. However, they must now focus on maintaining their place in the top five, having been held 0-0 at Real Sociedad in their previous fixture.
Home form has been important for Athletic Bilbao who are unbeaten in their last 14 matches at San Mames. However, the defeat to Manchester United exposed a shaky backline and they are without a clean sheet in three of their last five matches.
Alaves come into this clash off the back of a hard-fought 0-0 draw at home against Atlético Madrid in their previous fixture. That result means they have only picked up three wins from their last 10 matches and sit just three points above the relegation zone.
Eduardo Coudet's men have shown some quality on their travels lately and are unbeaten in eight of their last nine matches, although six of those fixtures have ended in draws. They are also more fearless in attack on the road, scoring in eight of their last nine matches.
How the bookies view it: Bilbao on top
The bookies have installed Athletic Bilbao as overwhelming favourites, with BoyleSports offering 5/6 for a home win. A victory for Alaves is priced at 7/2 while a draw has been set at 11/5.
Head to head: Superior Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao have 15 wins and nine draws while Alaves have only picked up six wins from 30 previous matches. Both teams battled to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture but Bilbao have won three of the last four home meetings.
Players to watch: Eyes on Guruzeta
Gorka Guruzeta has scored seven goals in all competitions for Athletic Bilbao and could be worth keeping an eye on with the injuries in the squad. He netted a brace in his last game against Alaves at San Mames Barria and is priced to score anytime at 9/4 on BoyleSports.
Kike Garcia is Alaves’ top scorer in the La Liga this campaign with 12 goals and will be the one to watch on Sunday. The forward is priced at odds of 11/4 by BoyleSports to get on the score sheet.
Probable line-ups
Inaki Williams, Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet are out injured while Andoni Gorosabel and Alex Berenguer are suspended. However, Unai Simon, Dani Vivian and Guruzeta are all expected to start.
Asides, Abdelkabir Abqar who is out injured, Alaves have a fully fit team to select from with Carlos Vicente, Jon Guridi and Garcia all expected to remain in the line-up.
Athletic Bilbao: Simon, Paredes, Alvares, Nunez, Berchiche, Galarreta, Juarezigar, Djalo, Gomez, Prados, Guruzeta
Alaves: Sivera, Sanchez, Mourino, Garces, Teneglia, Guevera, Blanco, Alena, Guridi, Vicente, Garcia
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in four of Alaves’ last five away league games and a repeat is expected at 23/20 with BoyleSports. Six of Athletic Bilbao's last 10 home matches in all competitions have produced a goal in each half, which is priced at 23/20 with BoyleSports.
Athletic Bilbao have secured first half wins in the last four matches against Alaves in all competitions and look set for a similar outcome at 15/8.
This La Liga match between Athletic Bilbao and Alaves will be played on and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Athletic Bilbao vs Alaves prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
GambleAware