Athletic Bilbao - Espanyol Barcelona: Tips, Prognosis & Odds - 07.02.2022 - SPAIN: La Liga
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Athletic Bilbao - Espanyol Barcelona: Tips, Prognosis & Odds - 07.02.2022 - SPAIN: La Liga
After the international break, the Spanish LaLiga is playing the 23rd matchday of the current season. This will be concluded on Monday evening in the Basque Country with the duel between Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol Barcelona. A duel between two teams that are currently in the middle of the table. However, the hosts in particular can reconnect with the international starting places with a home win.
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If the bookies have their way, this triumph is very likely, because for the game Athletic Bilbao against Espanyol Barcelona betting odds of 1.60 are offered for the home win. The Basques are a team that is generally considered to be very strong at home. The guests are one of the three climbers and can draw a very satisfactory conclusion with 27 points and 13th place. However, Espanyol is a welcome guest abroad and accordingly the outsider role is absolutely justifiable.
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Athletic Bilbao are in great shape at the moment and have caused quite a stir, especially in the Spanish Cup. In the championship, the Basques can secure the connection to the international starting places with a victory over Espanyol Barcelona.
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Coach Marcelino's team is on everyone's lips in Spain. In 2022, the Basques have recorded 6 wins and 1 draw in 8 games. Among other things, they defeated Atletico Madrid in the Supercup semifinals and kicked FC Barcelona and Real Madrid out of the cup competition. In the league, they recently won 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano, who had not lost a home game up to that point. You now want to improve your home record yourself, because you are only in 13th place in the home table.
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Athletic Bilbao : Stats & Current Form
Once again, the Basques confirmed their sympathy for the Spanish Royal Cup. Athletic Bilbao have won the title a total of 24 times, most recently in 1983/84. In the last two editions of the Spanish Cup, the dream was shattered in the final. In 2021/22, the Basques could reach the final for the third time in a row, because the clash against Valencia (the semi-finals will be played over two legs) is a feasible task. Especially after Barcelona and Real Madrid were recently eliminated in the cup.
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Coach Marcelino's team is on everyone's lips in Spain. In 2022, the Basques have recorded 6 wins and 1 draw in 8 games. Among other things, they defeated Atletico Madrid in the Supercup semifinals and kicked FC Barcelona and Real Madrid out of the cup competition. In the league, they recently won 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano, who had not lost a home game up to that point. You now want to improve your home record yourself, because you are only in 13th place in the home table
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Initially, the home side were described as traditionally strong at home, but this is an assessment that has not really been confirmed in the season so far. Athletic Bilbao have suffered five defeats so far this season, four of them at home.
Another finding is that Bilbao scores far more goals at home than away. In San Mames, the average is 2.50 goals per game, in away games it is a meager 1.08 goals. Three of the last four home games have ended with three or more goals, so a bet on the Over 2.5 is definitely worthwhile. Especially since Athletic Bilbao offers odds of over 2.00 against Espanyol Barcelona for this tip.
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Expected line-up of Athletic Bilbao:
Simon - Balenziaga, Martinez, Vivian, Lekue - Serrano, Zarraga, Garcia, Berenguer - I. Williams, Garcia
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The "lions" are not particularly snappy on the offensive and have only scored 21 goals this season - the same number as bottom-placed Levante for comparison. Nevertheless, the Basques have intact chances to qualify for the European Cup. On the one hand about the cup competition, where you are in the semi-finals, on the other hand about the league, in which you are 9th and only 3 points missing from the top 6. The showpiece is undoubtedly the defense with only 17 goals conceded. Bilbao ended 41% of all games without conceding a goal – an absolute top value.
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TIP RELEVANT BILBAO INFO:
- On average, the "Lions” score 1.73 goals per game
- Both teams scored in 60% of home games
- In 36% of games Bilbao didn't score themselves
- Only 27% of all games ended with more than 2.5 goals
- Only once did Bilbao lead at half-time at home
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Espanyol Barcelona :Stats & Current Form
The away game in the Basque Country is the first football game since January 21 for the promoted team from Barcelona. Espanyol's break came at a time when things weren't going according to plan. This gave head coach Moreno enough time to make up for the deficit, but there was also no way to end the negative run of the past few weeks.
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Espanyol with mini crisis
The Catalans couldn't win any of the last 4 competitive games. In the league there was only one point in the away game against Cadiz, in the cup came the end at RCD Mallorca. In the table you slipped back to 13th place. In 22 games, the blue-whites won 7 and drew 6 with a negative goal difference of 26:30. There is definitely a need to catch up abroad - Espanyol could only win one game away - resulting in 16th place in the guest table.
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Espanyol scored at least one goal of their own in all four games, but the defense presented itself as the major weak point. During the break, Vicente Moreno not only had to try to stabilize the defense, but also get creative on the offensive. Top striker Raul de Tomas was thrown off the pitch completely unnecessarily in the final phase of the 4-1 draw against Betis Sevilla. Twelve goals go to his account, the second best Espanyol scorer saves on three goals. His absence represents a severe weakness. Espanyol also have to do without the strong midfielder Yangel Herrera.
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If the trend of the last few weeks continues, the end of the match day on Monday will be very entertaining. If you only look at Espanyol Barcelona's last eight league games, there have been an average of no fewer than 3.50 goals. In addition to an over 2.5 at Athletic Bilbao against Espanyol Barcelona, the prediction of goals from both teams is also an option.
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Expected line-up of Espanyol Barcelona:
Lopez - Pedrosa, Calero, Gomez, Gil - Morlanes, Darder - Puado, Melendo, Vidal - Moron
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Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol Barcelona in direct comparison
The two traditional clubs have faced each other in 183 games so far. The Basques were able to celebrate 78 victories, while the Catalans were successful 66 times. The points were shared in 39 encounters. The goal difference of 316:252 speaks clearly for Bilbao - on average 3.10 goals per game are scored in this duel. In the last 4 games there were 3 times a 1:1 draw - like in the first leg of this season.
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Athletic Bilbao vs Espanyol Barcelona: Head-to-head comparison
In three of the last four league duels between Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol Barcelona, the tip on a point sharing was the right choice - all three games ended 1-1. The only exception was the last game at San Mames Stadium. In the 2019/20 season, the Basques confidently prevailed 3-0 at home. In general, Bilbao has a strong home record against the Catalans, winning 54 of the 85 LaLiga home games (14 draws, 17 defeats).
The last 5 encounters
26/10/2021: Espanyol 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
01/25/2020: Espanyol Barcelona 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
30/10/2019: Athletic Bilbao 3-0 Espanyol
03/08/2019: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Espanyol
05.11.2018: Espanyol 1-0 Athletic Bilbao
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Only the forthcoming Copa del Rey semi-final is a bit worrying, because Marcelino will (have to) rotate. The bet on the home win is still justified, but the forecast for good betting odds on the over 2.5 seems even more interesting for Athletic Bilbao against Espanyol Barcelona. Perhaps a little surprising given the de Tomas failure at Espanyol, but Espanyol's defense is by no means solid. In addition, Bilbao scores far more goals in home games than in away games, so the offered 2.06 seems a good bit too high.
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Our prediction for the game
The signs could not be more different. Athletic Bilbao have proven to be giant slayers in recent weeks, beating the 'Who's Who' of Spanish football. Espanyol, on the other hand, could not win the last 4 competitive games and also have to do without their top striker in the upcoming game. We are therefore clearly assuming a home win for the Basques - this brings in odds of around 1.70. Alternatively, we expect rather few goals - for the tip "less than 2.5 goals" the odds are also around 1.70.
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