La Liga: Bilbao Hoping For a Castellon Boost  

Villarreal vs Athletic Bilbao

Third hosts fifth in one of the big Primera Division matches this weekend when La Liga: Villarreal vs Athletic Club kicks off at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday evening.

Sure, the Madrid Derby may take centre stage earlier in the day, but fans of the top clubs and the ambitious sides will all be interested in the Villarreal vs Athletic updates. The Yellow Submarine is on the rise after they fought back to beat Osasuna last week and they followed that up with a win over Sevilla in midweek. Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao, one of the pre-season top four favourites, have hit a sticky patch, only part ended by a 1-1 draw at home to Girona on Tuesday. 

The latest Villarreal vs Athletic Club betting odds here at SBOTOP say we’re in for a tasty clash which could go either way; so let’s take a look at the two clubs and see where they are right now.

 

Talking Points

Solomon is off the mark for Villarreal

Having led Villarreal to a fifth-placed finish last term, Marcelino has Champions League football to work on as well as trying to maintain the Yellow Submarine’s place at the top table in Spain. And, it’s so far so good in the La Liga table which shows that four wins from six have placed the Yellow Submarine in third, hot on the heels of the El Clasico pair. Marcelino has strengthened his squad in preparation for a heavy workload and two of his new recruits were on the mark in their 2-1 win over Sevilla. Israeli winger Manor Solomon has been a star of Premier League football for Tottenham Hotspur and he was on loan at Leeds United last season. But now the 26-year-old is trying his luck in Spain having signed with Villarreal for a season long loan.

And it was Solomon who climbed off the bench to give Villarreal all the points in Seville, latching on to a through ball from Georges Mikautadze and slotting home the 86^th minute winner. There was a first goal too for Canadian forward Tani Oluwaseyi, and he has settled well into the club alongside countryman Tajon Buchanan. Marcelino has put together a strong creative unit with the influential Dani Parejo pulling the strings and Ivorian Nicolas Pepe providing pace and trickery, and with the arrival of Mikautadze, from Lyon, Solomon and Oluwasayi the manager has plenty of choice.

Following a 1-0 defeat away to Solomon’s parent club Spurs in the Champions League, Villarreal have responded strongly to see off Osasuna and Sevilla and now they are searching for three from three.

 

One point from three is bad news for Bilbao

While the Yellow Submarine is beginning to find some momentum, Ernesto Valverde has been struggling to get Athletic Club going in recent weeks; picking up just one draw in their last three La Liga games as well as losing their Champions League opener. After narrow back-to-back wins over Rayo Vallecano and Real Betis, Bilbao fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Deportivo Alaves courtesy of an Alex Berenguer own goal. Any thoughts Bilbao had of dominating Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium fell flat too as they went down to a 2-0 defeat and, in between these two losses, Bilbao met their own North London nemesis in the Champions League, losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal.

With three losses on the bounce in all competitions, there was some relief when 21-year-old midfielder Mikel Jauregizar equalised against Girona on Tuesday night to give the Basque team a point… and something to build on. With winger Nico Williams currently nursing a groin strain there has been a spark missing; but with star striker Oihan Sancet fit and firing Bilbao can still pack a punch.  

 

History

The last 34 meetings between these two sides have been well fought out with Bilbao edging the head-to-heads by 12 wins to ten and there have been 12 draws.

In terms of recent form, the Yellow Submarine has the edge with three wins, a draw and two defeats from their last six in all competitions, while Athletic Club have two wins, one draw and three defeats, but are without a victory in four.

Villarreal are very strong at home, winning all three of their La Liga games at the Estadio de la Ceramica this term, including a 5-0 hammering of Girona.     

 

Betting Tip

Villarreal are at odds of 2.05 to win this tasty encounter with Athletic Club at 3.88 and, while there is a strong case for backing a home win, I think a midweek point has given Bilbao something to build on and I believe they will fight hard for another result on Saturday night.

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.