Valencia - Athletic Club Bilbao predictions and free betting tips [20/01/2024]

On Saturday, 20th January, as a part of the 21st tour of the Spanish La Liga, Valencia will play against Athletic Bilbao on their home ground. Athletic Bilbao holds the third position in the league, having gathered 41 points, whilst Valencia trails in eighth in the overall scoring and behind the Euro cup zones by only three points.

Predicted Lineups

Valencia: Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Mosquera, Paulista, Gaya; Perez, Guillamon, Pepelu, Canos; Duro, D Lopez.
Athletic Bilbao: Simon; Lekue, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri; Ruiz de Galarreta, Vesga; Berenguer, Sancet, N Williams; Guruzeta.

Stadium

The match will take place in Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium.

Valencia

Having won the Copa Del Rey in 2019, Valencia had hoped to recapture the trophy this season. However, they were defeated at home by Celta in the 1/8 finals (1:3) last week. This failure broke a five-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, which included three consecutive victories over Rayo Vallecano (0:1), Villarreal (3:1), and Cadiz (1:4) last weekend.

Thanks to this run of successful results, the Blanquinegros edged closer to the Euro cup area, trailing just three points behind. In comparison, the team ended up in 16th place overall last season, which marked their worst performance since getting relegated in 1986. It's important to note, the Bats have been performing well at Mestalla, having gathered 17 points from nine matches in front of their fans. 

Athletic Bilbao

The Basque club had a successful start to the championship and continues to compete in the Copa Del Rey. Heading into the 21st tour, Bilbao sits 3rd in the La Liga table, ahead of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid (both of whom have played one game less), and seems to be set on retaining their place within the top four. Athletic secured their spot in the Copa Del Rey quarter-finals this week, defeating Alaves 2:0, marking their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions.

The eight-time Spanish champions avenged the disastrous 3:0 defeat in the Basque derby, overcoming Real Sociedad (2:1) last weekend. The Stripes have not managed to secure a Champions League spot for over a decade, and letting in only 20 goals from as many matches played moves them closer to this coveted target. 

Head to Head

The visiting team will be eager to extend their undefeated run against Valencia in La Liga to nine matches – the first round concluded with a draw of 2:2.

Match Prediction Valencia – Athletic

Despite solid results from Valencia over the past weeks, Athletic has had an impressive season and rightly enters the game as favourites. The Basque club, currently in third place in the La Liga table, battles Barcelona and Atletico for a Champions League spot. The Lions cannot afford to lose points at Mestalla, especially since their opponent played their Copa Del Rey match a day later. My prediction is a win for Ernesto Valverde's team with a handicap of 0.

Total Prediction

Although Athletic is in an incredible form, Valencia has the potential to score at least one goal with the support of their home crowd - I'm betting on both teams to score.

Corner Prediction

Valencia has been averaging only 3 corners per game this season, while the visitors nearly doubled that. My bet is on Athletic winning in corners.

Yellow Card Prediction

Neither team is particularly known for their roughness on the field (with only 2 yellow cards each per game this season), so my bet is on the total yellow cards being under 4.5.

Score Prediction

I'm betting on a precise score of 1:2 in favour of Athletic.