Athletic Bilbao vs. Villarreal – Spanish La Liga Match Preview
Athletic Bilbao will be hosting Villarreal at San Mames on Saturday. Both the teams are going through a bad patch in La Liga and they will be determined to take all three points from this difficult fixture.
It is an important fixture for both the sides who are trying to gain momentum in La Liga.
Team News: Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao are still not quite where they were last season.
Playing under their new manager, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marcelo-c23554 Biesla, Bilbao are simply not as much a threat as they were last season. Currently sitting at the 18th position in La Liga, Bilbao have shown that they are still trying hard to become a force in La Liga.
Bilbao have played four games in La Liga this season and they are still not as impressive as they were last season. Despite having a strong attacking line-up, Athletic Bilbao have only won a single point in the league.
Last season, Bilbao were able to finish sixth in the league. They shared the number of points with two other teams – Sevilla and Atletico Madrid. Sevilla finished one rank above Bilbao while Atletico Madrid were a rank below them.
This season, Bilbao have not taken the perfect of starts in the league. With only one point they are at the 18th position in the league.
For this fixture, Igor http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ander-Herrera-c5543 are both going to be on the sidelines as they are not fully fit to perform.
Bilbao’s home form has not been at its best against Villarreal. For the past five seasons, Bilbao have lost four of the five fixtures at home. It is going to be a tough fixture for Bilbao as they are currently not as big a threat as they last season.
Team News: Villarreal
Villarreal did not have a good start in La Liga as well.
The Yellow Submarine are currently sitting in the thirteenth position on the points table. They were the side which qualified for the UEFA Champions League last season after finishing fourth in the league.
However, this season they are not as good as they were in the last season. The Yellow Submarine have only won one game. With that one win they have taken the thirteenth position with four points.
Their only win came at home as they faced http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-c25261 Laudrup’s Mallorca.
As the game kicks off in Bilbao’s home ground – the San Mames – Villarreal have the edge over the home side. In the last nine fixtures the two have played, Villarreal have won 5 and lost four.
This is going to be a difficult fixture for Villarreal as they are going to try and gain back the momentum in the league. Moreover, after the fixture, the team is going to fly to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003 in the UEFA Champions League.
Predictions:
Both the teams are currently going through a bad patch in the league. This is going to be a perfect opportunity for both the sides to regain the confidence which they have lacked for the first four fixtures.
If both the sides are compared this season, Villarreal are still a step ahead of Bilbao in terms of playing. Therefore, Villarreal might just take all three points at San Mames.
The predicted score line for this fixture is 1-2 in favour of Villarreal. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nilmar-c28044 are the two players to watch for in the game as they are the two best players for the Yellow Submarine.
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