Seeking to solidify their position in the top four of the La Liga table, Athletic Bilbao travel to the Estadio Coliseum to take on Getafe on Thursday night.
Ernesto Valverde’s side suffered Europa League heartbreak when crashing to a 7-1 aggregate defeat against Manchester United last week, with the second leg bringing up a couple of my selections.
However, the Lions bounced back from the disappointment of their Europa League exit by claiming a narrow 1-0 win over Alaves on Sunday.
That victory coupled with results elsewhere means that the Basque Country outfit could rubber-stamp their ticket to next season's Champions League if they can avoid defeat on Thursday night.
As for Getafe, they are still looking over their shoulder towards the relegation zone as their winless streak stretches on.
Jose Bordalas’ 13th-placed side suffered a fifth straight defeat in La Liga when losing 3-0 away at rivals Valencia last time out.
How the bookies view it: Bilbao to bank all three points
Targeting back-to-back wins in La Liga for the first time since January, Athletic Bilbao come into this clash as 11/8 favourites on Boylesports.
Out-of-sorts Getafe are 21/10 outsiders with Boylesports, while a share of the Estadio Coliseum spoils can be backed at 17/10 with the same firm.
Head to head: Another stalemate in store?
Quite remarkably, seven of the previous eight meetings between the pair in La Liga have ended all square, including this season’s reverse fixture. That makes the aforementioned 17/10 (Boylesports) about a repeat on Thursday night well worthy of consideration.
Players to watch: Sancet to strike?
With 15 goals across his 25 appearances in La Liga this season, Athletic Bilbao’s Oihan Sancet stands out to register a minimum of one shot on target at 5/6 on Bet 365.
Diego Rico racked up his eighth yellow card of the season against Valencia on Saturday. The Getafe defender is 3/1 on BetVictor to tackle his way into trouble again on Thursday night.
Predicted line-ups
Juan Berrocal will miss out for Getafe due to suspension, however Mauro Arambarri will come off the naughty step and be available for selection.
Both Inaki Williams and Nico Williams missed out at the weekend due to injury, however the aforementioned Sancet did return from a spell on the sidelines as a substitute last time out, so he could come back into the starting XI on Thursday night.
Getafe: Soria; Nyom, Berrocal, Alderete, Rico; Gonzalez, Arambarri, Milla, Bernat; Mayoral, Rodriguez
Athletic Bilbao: Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue; Benat, Jauregizar; Djalo, Vesga, Sancet; Guruzeta
Anything else catch the eye?
With goals expected to be in short supply during this contest, siding with both the 0-0 and 1-1 draw looks worthy of interest at 5/1 with Boylesports.
This bet would have paid out in this season’s reverse fixture when the two teams played out a 1-1 draw.
What’s more, one of the above-mentioned scorelines would have proven profitable in four of the last seven La Liga meetings between the pair.
This La Liga match between Getafe and Athletic Bilbao will be played on and kick off at 20:30. Check below for our tipsters best Getafe vs Athletic Bilbao prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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