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Athletic Bilbao will open their La Liga campaign against newcomers Getafe, who returned to the top flight after a one year sabatical.
Athletic Bilbao has already played three official matches this season, all in the Europa League. The hosts defeated Dinamo Bucharest 4-1 aggregate (1-1, 3-0) and also won a few days ago against Panathinaikos in Greece (3-2). Athletic played well in all games and showed some very good offensive movements, so they will be confident coming into this match with Getafe.
Getafe achieved promotion to La Liga right back after getting relegated, but it was by no means an easy feat. The visitors finished third in the second division last season, no less than 16 points behind league winners Levante, and had to go through the playoffs in order to return to La Liga. Getafe lost a couple of key players from last season, but brought in a lot of new guys (nothing spectacular), so it will be interesting to see how that works out for them.
Bet on Ath Bilbao vs. Getafe and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!Team news & lineups:
Iturraspe and Alvarez continue to miss out for Athletic Club, while Getafe will be without Yoda, Pacheco and possibly Antunes.
Athletic Club: Arrizabalaga – Etxeita, Marcos, Laporte, Balenziaga – Etxebarria, Vesga – Williams, Garcia, Muniain – Aduriz
Getafe: Guaita – Molinero, Djene, Cala, Suarez – Mora, Fajr – Portillo, Shibasaki, Jimenez – Molina
Athletic Bilbao is well known as being one of the best teams in Spanish football, and last season they had a 13-4-2 record at San Mames, comparable with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The hosts had a successful campaign last year and they approach this season with the same squad, although without coach Valverde, who left for Barcelona. Athletic has played well in the beginning of this season, so there`s every reason to believe they will take care of a rather modest Getafe outfit.
One thing that could work against Athletic Bilbao is the fact that they had to play Thursday in Greece, in the Europa League – and I suspect that`s why odds on them to win are around 1.50, as opposed to something like 1.40, which would feel more accurate.
However, this is only the start of the season and Athletic Bilbao will play this match in the comfort of their own home, so they should be fine. Actually, a fair case could be made that having official matches under their belt could help them be more ready for this first round of La Liga – especially as they meet a team which made a ton of moves in the off season and could lack chemistry.
My tip here is Athletic Bilbao to win. If you feel like taking a more aggressive approach, the -1 asian handicap could well pay off, especially given how good Bilbao looked on the offensive end in their Europa League matches. Personally I won`t get greedy, and I will stick with the safer straight home win here. Prediction: Athletic Bilbao – Getafe 2-0.
Pick: Athletic Bilbao
Odds: 1.54 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4.32
Event date: 20 August
