Athletic Bilbao – Sevilla

Athletic Bilbao will host FC Sevilla in the first leg of this All Spanish Europa League quarterfinal.

Athletic Bilbao has just 2 losses and 1 draw in the last 3 matches, a run of results that is even worse than it seems considering that the opponents were poor (Espanyol, Valencia, Granada). The 1-1 draw against Granada a few days ago was very disappointing, as Athletic was leading 1-0 at home, missed a penalty and got equalized in the last 15 minutes. The hosts need to step up their game ahead of this tie, as it will be much more difficult than the 4-0 aggregate win over Valencia last round.

Sevilla is on the back of a shocking 1-2 home loss to Real Sociedad, a result which came after Sevilla won the previous 17 matches played at their own stadium! It was the second loss in a row after a 0-4 defeat to Real Madrid but, in all honesty, Sevilla was not that bad in either of the two matches. They actually played well in Madrid and had their chances against Sociedad as well. Unfortunately for the visitors, they can’t be too confident coming into this match given their recent results but especially given their performances on the road this season. Sevilla won just 3 games away from home in all competitions, all in Copa Del Rey.

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Team news & lineups:

Bilbao will miss Laporte, while Sevilla only has the long term injury of Andreolli to worry about. Strong lineups are expected from both teams here.

Athletic Bilbao: Herrerin – Marcos, Gurpegi, Etxeita, Balenziaga – Jose, Benat – Williams, Garcia, Muniain – Aduriz

FC Sevilla: Soria – Mariano, Kolodziejczak, Rami, Tremoulinas – Cristoforo, N’Zonzi – Konoplyanka, Banega, Krohn-Dehlo – Gameiro

Sevilla has truly been Jekyll & Hyde this season, playing lights out at home but under performing big time on the road. Winning just 3 games away from home in an entire season is a disastrous statistic, especially as neither of the wins came in La Liga, Champions League or Europa League.

Atletic Bilbao is far from being in the best form, but they are strong at San Mames and home court advantage makes them favorites ahead of this clash. I reckon Bilbao has a better chance to claim victory than Sevilla, but on the other hand I feel the draw is more likely than either side to win. Fact is that Athletic has played worse than Sevilla in the last few weeks.

With the above in mind, my tip will be the draw on the Athletic Bilbao win no bet market. Prediction: Athletic Bilbao – Sevilla 1-1.

Pick: Draw – Athletic Bilbao win no bet
Odds: 1.85 @ Ladbrokes
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.80
Event date: 7 April