Athletic Bilbao vs Sevilla

September 22, 2016
By: Milos Markovic

Sevilla travel to San Mames on Saturday feeling buoyed by their big Seville derby win which has put them in second place in La Liga table, but Athletic Bilbao will have enough motivation of their own to put an end to Rojiblancos’ recent run.

Three on the trot

There have been ups and downs for Athletic Bilbao in the new season, but Ernesto Valverde’s men are coming off from a three-match winning run in La Liga which has been achieved after Athletic’s 2-1 win at Granada during the week. Garcia and Laporte scored apiece in each half for a controlling triumph for the Basque side, who have shown great improvement after their back-to-back defeats at the beginning of the campaign. It has been all wins and defeats for Valverde’s men who have also began their European campaign on a wrong foot. Athletic Bilbao suffered a worrying 3-0 defeat at Sassuolo, but their match against Sevilla will be another chance to build up self-confidence and morale early in the season. Aritz Aduritz will be the one to watch with the hosts as the experienced striker has been one of the most prominent performers for Bilbao early on. His brace against Valencia earned Athletic an important win and Valverde will be hoping that the 35-year-old forward will continue his form after failing to impress against Granada.

Ager Aketxe has not been able to feature in the new season due to his injury and will once again be ruled out from contention. De Marcos and Boveda have both suffered knocks during the week and the game against Sevilla comes too early for Athletic Bilbao defenders.

Second-place delight

It’s been a busy week for Sevilla, who managed to grab a second-place spot behind leaders Real Madrid during the week thanks to their controversial Seville Derby win and courtesy of Barcelona’s 1-1 stalemate with Atletico Madrid. Argentina international Gabriel Mercado scored the winning goal for Sevilla with a close range finish to put Rojiblancos upfront against Real Betis, who thought they had equalised just three minutes later. Alex Alegria tucked home a low Ruben Castro cross, but it was wrongly rules out offside much to disappointment of the away team. Three points from the derby match have allowed Sevilla to move closer to Real Madrid, who were held by Villarreal, but it must be said that all other results worked in Sevilla’s favour as well. Either way, Rojiblancos will have been handed an important morale boost which will be extremely welcome following a turbulent summer and somewhat slower start to the season. Jorge Sampaoli’s men are now without a loss in their last six matches and will surely be looking to extend the run at the weekend at San Mames.

David Soria, Benoit Tremoulinas and Michael Krohn-Dehli sre still unable to get a piece of the action in the new season due to their injury problems. Joining them in the medical room are Adil Rami and Daniel Carrico, who are struggling with hamstring problems and a thigh injury, respectively.

Verdict

Athletic Bilbao have endured mixed fortunes at the beginning of the season, but the Basque side are on a winning run and will be hoping to make it four out of four in La Liga. Sevilla have made serious improvements to last season’s away performances and are yet to taste defeat in the new season. There is good value in betting on them remaining unbeaten at San Mames as well.

Top pick: Both teams to score – Yes   1.67 (4/6) @WilliamHill

Alternative pick 1: Sevilla – Draw No Bet   2.63 (13/8) @Bet365

Alternative pick 2: Sevilla   3.7 (27/10) @BetVictor

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