Ath Bilbao vs Real Sociedad prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-04-14 14:15.
Athletic Bilbao have taken on the role of villain in recent weeks, hurting the survival chances of both Espanyol (W 2-1) and Valladolid (W 3-1) whilst keeping their own hopes of European football in 2023/24 alive. Now it’s time to be heroes and deliver their faithful fans their first home La Liga (LL) win in two months after three hiccups (D1, L2), albeit one of which was an admirable 1-0 loss to league leaders Barcelona.
Delighted manager Ernesto Valverde described the win at Espanyol as “worth more than three points … it was a test for the team, and for the fans, so they could see we had a reaction in us.” A series of failed tests against the top four clubs of the league (L6 from six attempts) has kept them out of contention throughout the season and doesn’t bode well here when looking to avenge a 3-1 loss away to upcoming opponents, fourth-placed Real Sociedad, back in January.
After he handed rival manager Ernesto Valverde his first loss to Sociedad in nearly seven years, Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil survived a rocky seven-game period (W1, D4, L2) but still maintained their best top-flight season in 20 years with back-to-back 2-0 home wins against Elche and Getafe. Elimination from the Europa League appears to have been a blessing in disguise as demonstrated by their immediate lift in domestic results.
Between those two wins was a third consecutive LL away trip without success (D1, L2), two of which were against bottom-half opposition. That understandably raises concern about how they are going to fare in the first of what is five remaining LL away trips against clubs in the top eight alongside Athletic heading into this round, particularly as they could not grab a win in either of the previous two (D1, L1).
Players to watch: Oihan Sancet scored in Athletic’s last LL home win as well as his last two appearances against Sociedad. The referee will certainly need to watch him carefully after he was booked in four of his last five games for club or country. Sociedad would almost certainly benefit from Alexander Sörloth returning to scoring form, as he has won all 11 of his competitive goalscoring appearances this season.
Hot stat: All but one of Sociedad’s last 11 LL games, including the seven most recent, produced fewer than 2.5 total goals.