Almeria vs Ath Bilbao prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-02-11 20:00.
Rock bottom of La Liga and sinking without a trace, AlmerĂa supporters may well be wishing the season could end now, instead of delaying their seemingly inevitable relegation back to the second-tier. Even if you treble Rojiblancos’ current tally of six points, it would not be enough to pull them clear of the bottom-three, thanks to a miserable winless campaign (D6, L17) that seems to be getting worse by the week.
The biggest achilles heel for Gaizka Garitano’s side is their defence, as following a 2-1 defeat to Valencia last time out, no team in the division had conceded more than their 51 goals. Worryingly, that leaky backline has been breached 13 times over the final 15 minutes of matches, costing them a further nine points over the course of the season.
History suggests the poor form is hardly likely to end any time soon either, as opponents Athletic Bilbao have won ten of the last 11 H2Hs (D1). The visitors also arrive at the Power Horse Stadium on a high, having beaten Atlético Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie on Wednesday to extend an impressive run to just one defeat from their last 20 games across all competitions (W15, D4).
That means Ernesto Valverde’s side are well placed to qualify for European football for the first time since 2016/17, with even a place in the UEFA Champions League not out of the question. They head into this round of fixtures in fifth place in the table, buoyed by keeping their fifth clean sheet in their last seven top-flight matches when beating Mallorca 4-0 in the last round (W5, D1, L1).
Players to watch: Sergio Arribas is AlmerĂa’s top scorer this season, with five of his six league goals coming after half-time. He may come up against Athletic Bilbao defender Yuri Berchiche, who has never lost in four H2Hs (W2, D2), and after bagging a brace against Mallorca, is attempting to net in back-to-back league appearances for the first time since December 2019!
Hot stat: There have only been 20 goals across Athletic Bilbao’s 11 away league games this season, a joint-low for the division.