Athletic - Espanyol: betting tip (cf 3.50) and bets on the Spanish Championship match

Current form

Athletic is not fully meeting expectations this season. It affects the lack of serious opportunities to perform equally successfully in several tournaments at a high level. As soon as several key players drop out of the cage, problems immediately appear. In the last five matches, taking into account all tournaments, the Basques have won only one victory in regular time. At the same time, it is worth noting that Ernesto Valverde's team knows how to set up meetings with top opponents, especially on their own field, and is always ready to surprise. So, in the same five-match period, Athletic managed to beat Atletico Madrid at home in the Primera (1:0) and took points from PSG in the Champions League (0:0).

Athletic is in eighth place in the La Liga standings with 23 points. The gap from the top 4, namely, a bet on finishing in the top four, is 12 points. It seems that the main task for the season will not be able to cope. In the previous round, the Basques did not cope with Celta on the road - they lost with a score of 0:2.

It's not easy in other tournaments. On the eve of the 1/16 finals of the Spanish Cup, Athletic defeated the modest Ourense only in extra time with a minimum score of 1-0. In the Champions League, after six rounds, we have only five points, an intermediate 28th place, which does not allow us to get into the playoffs, but there are two more games ahead.

Disqualifications and injuries

Eguliz, Prados, Sannadi, Laporte and Bercice are in the Athletic's infirmary. Navarro is questionable, and Vivian won't play because of too many yellow cards.

Interesting betting trends

• Athletic have not played a draw in the last eight matches in the Primera
• In five of the previous seven matches in La Liga, Athletic conceded.
• In four consecutive matches with the participation of the Basques, an accurate score of 0-0 was recorded in the first half.

Approximate line–up: Simon – Areso, Paredes, Leke, Boyro – Jauregisar, Galareta – I. Williams, Sunset, N. Williams - Berenger.

Current form

Espanyol has become one of the openings of the season in Primera. There are 16 rounds left, and Manolo Gonzalez's team is still competing for European Cup places and there is no talk of any decline. The team has 30 points and fifth place. Moreover, there is a solid five-point gap from Betis, who is on the sixth line, on the eve of the start of the 17th round. True, it won't be easy to qualify for the top 4, given the five-point gap from Villarreal, but the opponent has two more games.

In the last four rounds, Espanyol scored the maximum 12 points, clearly reaching the peak of form. Of course, there were no top opponents in this segment, but nevertheless, the very fact of such a winning streak from a team that does not have a strong squad is impressive. In the last round, we managed to beat Getafe on the road with a minimum score of 1-0.

In many ways, Espanyol's progress is due to the fact that they managed to improve the game in away meetings, which was often a problem. We scored 11 points in seven matches played in other arenas. This is only the seventh result in the Example, but it is an excellent indicator for Manolo Gonzalez's team, especially considering that they lost only twice.

Disqualifications and injuries

Terrats will not play due to injury, Puado is questionable. Pikel is involved in the national team at the African Cup of Nations.

Interesting betting trends

• In four of the previous five matches, Espanyol drew in the first half.
• In eight of the last nine matches in the Primera, Espanyol scored goals.
• No more than two goals have been scored in six of Espanyol's last eight La Liga matches.

Approximate composition: Dmitrovich — El Hilali, Calero, Cabrera, Romero — Dolan, Lozano, de Zarate, Edu, P. Miglia — Fernandez.