Granada vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction & Betting Tips - Copa del Rey

Prediction published on 02/03/2020, 14:54  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 02/03/2020 at 18:54 in Football Predictions

Is this Athletic Bilbao's season to win finally win another Copa Del Rey? Thursday's semi-final second leg at Granada will give us some class of an indication. The advantage will be with the visitors, thanks to the solitary goal scored by Iker Muniain in the first leg at San Mames. The Basque side has a proud history when it comes to their record with Spain's national cup. Only Barcelona (30) have lifted the Copa Del Rey more times than Athletic Bilbao (23). Unfortunately for their supporters, the last taste of glory in that competition was in 1984. Boohoo, Granada fans might mock console, for their club has never won the competition full stop. The closest they came to triumphing was a 4-1 defeat to Barcelona in the final of the 1959 edition. There's no chance that Barca will add to their haul or spoil the party for either team this season. That's because Bilbao knocked them out in the semi-finals. 

It's a big scalp to wave around the pitch but Granada are not without scalps of their own. Valencia, the holders, had to make do with a quarter-final appearance this year after Granada condemned them to a 2-1 defeat. Granada are quite a useful team on their own patch. Heck, at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, they're a top-six team. Not that you would be able to see it when they face their Basque counterparts. Athletic Club are on a four-game winning streak against Granada. The last win could have had a bigger scoreline than 1-0 if VAR hasn't interfered or if the hosts had been more clinical with their 23 (twenty-three) shots. Converting shots into goals hasn't been their strong suit this season and they average less than a goal per game away from home in La Liga. Despite this, we believe that Athletic Bilbao will go through to the final in a competitive match that will ultimately end in a stalemate.