Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Spanish La Liga match
In the current season, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia haven’t won yet, with the Valencia side sitting at the bottom of the table ahead of their trip to Bilbao. The Basque side has been rightfully given the status of favourites by bookmakers, considering they have a well-honed strategy, while their opponents are excessively inconsistent.
Athletic Bilbao
Against Getafe (1:1) and Barcelona (1:2), Athletic Bilbao generated a total of 1.39 xG — not the most impressive figure, but their opponents were not willing to engage in open football. It's clear that the combination of the Williams brothers and Oihan Sancet in the attacking midfielder role will yield results, particularly against mid-table and lower-tier teams. Notably, against Getafe at home, the team controlled possession 69% of the time, and a similar dominance can be expected against a team of comparable level.
Valencia
Valencia's attacking performance is somewhat better than Athletic Club's (2.71 xG), but in terms of expected goals conceded, they are third from the bottom with 4.79 xG. The team simply lacks the quality to compete even with Celta: in that game, after an early goal by Diego López, they conceded three goals in a row within 35 minutes. Without the injured Sergi Canós, Samu Castillejo, José Gayà, and Fran Pérez, they will continue to struggle to secure points.
Athletic Bilbao - Valencia Prediction
In the last two seasons, Athletic have won three out of five head-to-head encounters against Valencia. In front of their home crowd in Bilbao, the Spanish side will clinch their first victory of the current campaign.
