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 | Real Madrid | 33 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 71 | 22 | +49 | 84 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 33 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 68 | 39 | +29 | 73 |
| 3 | Girona | 33 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 69 | 40 | +29 | 71 |
| 4 | Atlético de Madrid | 33 | 20 | 4 | 9 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 64 |
| 5 | Athletic Bilbao | 33 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 58 |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 33 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 51 |
| 7 | Real Betis | 33 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 49 |
| 8 | Valencia | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 37 | 38 | -1 | 47 |
| 9 | Villarreal | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 55 | -1 | 45 |
| 10 | Getafe | 33 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 43 |
| 11 | Osasuna | 33 | 11 | 6 | 16 | 37 | 49 | -12 | 39 |
| 12 | Alaves | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 31 | 38 | -7 | 38 |
| 13 | Sevilla | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 46 | -4 | 38 |
| 14 | Las Palmas | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 30 | 41 | -11 | 37 |
| 15 | Rayo Vallecano | 33 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 27 | 42 | -15 | 34 |
| 16 | Mallorca | 33 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 39 | -12 | 32 |
| 17 | Celta Vigo | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 50 | -13 | 31 |
| 18 | Cadiz | 33 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 23 | 46 | -23 | 26 |
| 19 | Granada | 33 | 4 | 9 | 20 | 36 | 61 | -25 | 21 |
| 20 | Almeria | 33 | 1 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 67 | -35 | 14 |
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 UEFA 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