Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction & Betting Tips - LaLiga

Prediction published on 07/03/2021, 21:58  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 08/03/2021 at 10:19 in LaLiga Predictions

The recent matches have had stutters, as far as Atletico Madrid’s race to the La Liga title is concerned and they will be happy to still be top of the table as they host Athletic Bilbao.  Atletico have 59 points, 26 ahead of eighth placed Bilbao. The hosts will be out to stop an uneasy run that has seen them win just one of their last five matches across all competitions. They have also been conceding consistently and here they go with one clean sheet in their last 10 matches, though are still the best defensive side in La Liga. Atletico were minutes away from a crucial win over Real Madrid in their last game but in the 88th minute of the of the Madrid derby, Karim Benzema canceled out Luis Suarez’s opener. It left Atletico just three points ahead of second placed Barcelona, after dropping nine points in their last six league matches. On the scoring front, Atletico are good; they’ve only failed to score once in the last 14 league matches. However, they head here winless in three home matches in La Liga and have conceded six goals in the last four league games at home. The home team has a big boost in the return of Kieran Trippier, who has completed a 10-week ban, but Jose Maria Gimenez remains sidelined.

Athletic Bilbao carry to this game a run of eight matches unbeaten, but without a clean sheet in the last four. In their last match, they registered a 2-1 win over Granada. Generally, they’ve had a good run ahead of this game, with only two losses in the last 15 matches – those coming against Barcelona. They have scored in each of their last 15 matches, with Alex Berenguer the main man in recent matches, scoring five in the last five matches. The team will still be without Inigo Martinez as he serves the final of a three-match suspension. Two areas the visitors will want to improve on are the three draws registered in the last five league games and the fact that both sides have scored in seven of their last eight league games. However, the key concern remains in the fact that they haven’t won a lot away from home. In the last 10 away league games, Bilbao have one win and five losses. They’ve beaten Atletico Madrid just once in the last 16 matches.