Athletic Club have a home game in La Liga against Rayo Vallecano, sandwiched in between the two legs of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Rangers.
Ernesto Valverde is expected to rotate across the pitch in this game, with a huge emphasis being placed on their bid to make it to a hometown final in Europe in May.
They are in with a really good chance of reaching that, but there’s still business to attend to in La Liga first. The goals have dried up for Athletic in recent weeks, and they’ve only won one of their last five league matches as a result, but they are still ahead of Villarreal and Real Betis in the battle for the fourth, and most probably fifth, Champions League places.
Rayo Vallecano were also dreaming of Europe until relatively recently, but they’ve hit the wall to some extent. Some untimely injuries have exposed flaws in their squad, and they were shambolic last time out, losing 4-0 at home to relegation-threatened Espanyol.
How the bookies view it: Athletic expected to triumph
Athletic have struggled a bit after European matches this season, but that hasn’t deterred the bookies who have made them the 4/5 favourites here. The draw is on offer at 5/2, while Rayo Vallecano are priced at 9/2 to claim their second win in the Basque Country in the space of a fortnight, following a 2-0 victory at Alaves the weekend before last.
Recent head-to-head: Basque domination
These two clubs have a really good relationship for socio-political reasons, but Athletic have shown Rayo little mercy on the pitch in recent times. Six of the last seven meetings at San Mames have ended in home wins, and Los Leones are targeting a fourth straight victory over this opposition overall on Sunday.
Players to watch: Guruzeta and Berenguer to provide fresh legs
With Athletic expected to rotate and potentially rest one, if not both, of the Williams brothers, Gorka Guruzeta and Alex Berenguer could have key roles to play here as the home team seek goals. Berenguer missed a penalty after coming off the bench at Ibrox on Thursday, but he averages a goal contribution every 150 minutes in La Liga this term.
Predicted Lineups
Left-back Yuri is expected to be the only injury absentee for Athletic who are likely to change more than half of their lineup, following the goalless draw in Glasgow.
Pelayo Fernandez could get a chance at the heart of the Rayo Vallecano defence here, with Abdul Mumin injured and Aridane Hernandez unconvincing last time out. Striker Sergio Camello also misses out again through injury.
Athletic Club: Simon, Boiro, Paredes, Vivian, Gorosabel, Prados, Ruiz de Galarreta, Berenguer, U. Gomez, I. Williams, Guruzeta.
Rayo Vallecano: Batalla, Chavarria, P. Fernandez, Lejeune, Ratiu, Ciss, Diaz, A. Garcia, Isi Palazon, De Frutos, Nteka.
Anything else catch the eye?
Athletic have been very strong in the first half at home this season, scoring 16 and conceding only once before the interval in La Liga. Given that, there could be value in backing Athletic to win the first half at 23/20 with Unibet here.
They’re not scoring freely though, and punters should be aware that Rayo haven’t lost by more than a single goal away from home in La Liga all season. Athletic are priced at 5/2 with bet365 to win this game by one.
Given the home team come into this one after three straight 0-0 draws, going for under 2.5 goals at 4/6 with Betfred may also make sense.
This La Liga match between Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Athletic Club vs Rayo Vallecano prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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