18+ | Erlaubtes Glücksspiel gemäß der Whitelist | Suchtrisiken | Hilfe unter buwei.de
18+. Verantwortungsbewusst wetten.
18+ Jogue com responsabilidade
Villarreal hope to keep a long winning run at home going against Athletic Bilbao, whose campaign has stalled after a good start.
Match News and Current Form
Villarreal struck late to beat Sevilla 2-1 in midweek and maintain their position in La Liga’s top four, and their start (W4, D1, L1) has been so good that they now have their highest points haul after matchday six since 2015/16. That season they eventually finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Champions League, fuelling belief of a potential repeat at Estadio de la Cerámica, where the Yellow Submarine will aim to extend a run of seven consecutive home league wins having conceded only once here in La Liga this term (W3).
Trailing Villarreal by three points, Athletic Bilbao harbour lofty aspirations of their own after finishing fourth last term and they started this campaign with three wins only to go winless across their last three league games (D1, L2). They battled from behind to salvage a point against struggling Girona on Tuesday (D 1-1), which must have been the bare minimum boss Ernesto Valverde was expecting after making four half-time substitutions! Despite their recent struggles, the Lions might still feel quietly hopeful of getting something from this fixture as they’ve won three of their last four La Liga away games (L1).
Head-to-Head History
Athletic have only lost one of the last 13 H2Hs (W5, D7) but they’ve only triumphed in one of the last seven meetings here (D5, L1).
Win ProbabilityOpta by StatsPerform
Hot Stats and Streaks
Each of Villarreal’s last three league games produced exactly one first-half goal (HT: W1, L2).
Three of Villarreal’s last four La Liga fixtures witnessed scoring after the 80th minute.
Four of Athletic’s last five league outings were goalless at the break.
Nine of Athletic’s last ten La Liga away games produced under 2.5 goals (W4, D3, L3).
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Tani Oluwaseyi netted his first goal since signing for Villarreal against Sevilla and he now has three goal contributions (G1, A2) across his last five appearances for club and country. Athletic’s Aitor Paredes got off the mark for the season by scoring against Betis last month, his fourth successive club strike to be scored with his head, including one against Villarreal last season.
Santi Comesaña was withdrawn early during the Sevilla game reportedly due to injury so may not feature for Villarreal here. Athletic can welcome back defender Dani Vivian from suspension, but could remain without the influential Nico Williams.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
A win here for the hosts would lay down a significant marker, so despite their poor H2H record, we’re backing Villarreal to win.
