Valencia vs Ath Bilbao prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2025-05-17 17:00.
[p]Valencia’s chances of qualifying for European football are close to extinguished after Wednesday’s 1-0 loss at Alavés left them three points behind eighth-placed Rayo Vallecano. Deflated head coach Carlos Corberán made no mention of Europe when assessing what he described as an error-riddled performance, but he can still be incredibly proud of what he’s achieved in a short period of time, as Valencia were in a relegation battle when he took over in December. [/p]
[p]Their only path to eighth place now is to take points off two top-six opponents, starting with a home fixture against Athletic Bilbao. Their 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture serves as one of six defeats they’ve suffered against top-four opponents from seven such games, which certainly won’t help build belief, but seven wins from their last nine home league games (D1, L1) show they’re capable of beating anyone at the Mestalla.[/p]
[p]Athletic are in good form themselves, winning four of their last six league matches to guarantee their spot in the league phase of the next UEFA Champions League (UCL). With their seasonal goals achieved, they could be forgiven for taking it easy for the rest of the campaign, but they’re unlikely to do so after manager Ernesto Valverde set his players and staff the goal of their first top-four finish since 2013/14.[/p]
[p]Valverde’s side have been an almost unbeatable outfit when visiting clubs currently beneath them, losing just one of their 15 such league trips (W7, D7) after beating Getafe 2-0 in midweek. The solid defending they displayed there has been the foundation of their success lately, with seven clean sheets from their last nine league games across all venues setting them up nicely to secure back-to-back away league wins for the first time since January. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Hugo Duro could be Valencia’s best route to goal as seven of his 11 goals this season were netted on home soil, with five of those 11 giving them a 1-0 lead. A Gorka Guruzeta goal is usually a good omen for Athletic given they’re unbeaten in 11 competitive matches (W9, D2) when he’s scored. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Thirteen of the last 17 competitive H2Hs produced under 2.5 total goals. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]