Athletic Club Bilbao - Alaves predictions and free betting tips [16/03/2024]

Today within the scope of the 29th round of the Spanish Primera, Athletic Bilbao will host Alaves on their home ground. The hosts, currently ranked fifth in the tournament table, achieved a victory over Las Palmas with a score of 2:0 last week, whilst "Alaves" dealt with "Rayo Vallecano" (1:0), getting 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Athletic Bilbao

Following an unconvincing 0:0 draw with Barcelona at San Mames, Athletic, currently in fifth place in La Liga table, returned to winning ways last weekend beating Las Palmas 0:2. Guruzeta scored in the first half, and at the 65th minute, Coco directed the ball into his own net. The Basque team went back into the fight for the Champions League after Atletico Madrid stumbled against Cadiz, in the relegation zone. Now Ernesto Valverde's charges are two points behind the "mattress-makers", followed by tomorrow's match between Simeone's team and Barcelona. The hosts have also booked their place in the Copa del Rey final against Mallorca in early April, where they will be favorites. 

It's worth noting that the Stripes impress at home, garnering 33 points in 14 matches at San Mames and succeeding 10 times, making it the fifth-best in the division. Midfielder Ander Herrera will miss the upcoming match due to injury, while center-back Aitor Paredes will be disqualified for an excess of yellow cards. The Williams brothers, Nico (3 goals, 7 assists in La Liga) and Inaki (9 goals, 3 assists), plus Berenguer (6 goals) and Guruzeta (11 goals, 3 assists in the league) may be poached by stronger clubs this summer. Yeray Alvarez and Inigo Lekue will form the defense four, with Oihan Sanset providing the midfield's backbone.

Alaves

Alaves earned their La Liga spot through the Segunda playoffs last year. Coming into this 29th round match, the white-blue side is 10 points ahead of relegation-threatened Cadiz, so the remainder of the season should be relaxed. Alaves recently had a somewhat lackluster spell in the championship, although they did manage to end a five-match winless run by beating Rayo Vallecano 1:0 last weekend; the lone goal was scored by Andoni Gorosabel at the end of the first half. Earlier, the "babazorros" shared points with Villarreal (1:1), Betis (0:0) and Mallorca (1:1), and lost to Osasuna (1:0). As visitors, Alaves have struggled, winning only two out of 14 Primera matches away from home, ranking 15th in the division. 

Sadly for the Alaves fans, the schedule doesn't look promising: after the clash with the Basques, they will have to face Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid. Only Sedlar (suffering from torn ACL) will miss the trip to San Mames (his return is scheduled for May). Young forward Samu Omorodion (8 goals) is expected to start and be responsible for attacking creativity. His closest competitor in the team's scoring table is the more experienced Luis Rioja, with 4 goals this season. Kike Garcia and Alex Sola are potential rotation options, but head coach Luis Garcia might choose to put forth the same squad that overcame "Rayo" in the last round.

Head-to-head

Athletic won the first-round match (0:2), and in mid-January, the "lions" ousted the white-blues in the Copa del Rey's 1/8 finals with the same score.

Prediction for the Athletic Bilbao - Alaves match

A victory today will propel Athletic to 4th place in the league table. With "mattress-makers" playing Barça tomorrow, there's a real chance to solidify a Champions League spot. Alaves now lacks any significant tournament motivation (a 10-point lead from the relegation zone) and is simply enjoying the remainder of the season. Valverde's men have twice prevailed over the visitors this season – this trend is expected to continue.