Football Previews
Match info:
Villarreal vs Athletic Bilbao
Competition – Spanish Primera Liga
Stadium – El Madrigal
Date: 17th March
Kick-off time – 21:00 GMT+1
4th place Athletic Bilbao travel to El Madrigal this Monday evening to face 6th position Villarreal in the Spanish Primera Liga.
Recent form:
Both sides have won 2 of their last 7 games.
The Spanish Primera table looks like this:
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | G | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 12 | +28 | 33 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 27 |
| 3 | Atlético de Madrid | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 7 | +12 | 26 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 24 |
| 5 | Osasuna | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 20 | -3 | 21 |
| 6 | Athletic Bilbao | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 20 |
| 7 | Real Betis | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 20 |
| 8 | Real Sociedad | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 18 |
| 9 | Mallorca | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | +0 | 18 |
| 10 | Girona | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 18 |
| 11 | Celta Vigo | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 17 |
| 12 | Rayo Vallecano | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 13 | +0 | 16 |
| 13 | Sevilla | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 18 | -6 | 15 |
| 14 | Leganes | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 14 |
| 15 | Alaves | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 22 | -8 | 13 |
| 16 | Las Palmas | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 22 | -6 | 12 |
| 17 | Getafe | 13 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 10 |
| 18 | Espanyol | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 22 | -11 | 10 |
| 19 | Real Valladolid | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 25 | -15 | 9 |
| 20 | Valencia | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 7 |
A win for Villarreal will move them into 5th position.
A win for Athletic Bilbao will not improve their position but move them closer to a guaranteed Champions League position and more importantly, push them further ahead of Villarreal.
Head-to-head
These two sides have met 27 times in recent years and Villarreal have come out on top most often.
The last 5 meetings between these two sides finished 0:2, 2:2, 1:1, 1:0 and 4:1.
Possible line-ups
Villarreal (4-4-2)
Athletic Bilbao (4-5-1)
Bookmakers make Villarreal slight favourites to come out on top in this match.
Odds: Villarreal (13/10) Draw (23/10) Bilbao (21/10)Gamingtips Prediction – Villarreal 1:2 Bilbao
Villarreal have struggled recently losing 4 of their last 7 games – worryingly they have conceded 10 goals in their 5 matches. Athletic Bilbao are the 5th highest scoring team in the league and have the 4th best defensive record – they have lost just 1 of their last 6 and conceded just 3 goals in their last 5 games. Ultimately this is a very tough game on paper and the betting odds reflect this – Villarreal have one of the best defensive records (5th) in the division however their form of late has been below average and if they don’t perform against a very strong Bilbao side, they may suffer back-to-back losses. 
Loading ...
Please Gamble Responsibly