Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo have had a fine start to their seasons and find themselves sitting in the upper half of the La Liga table. While hosts will want to build upon the recent results their gaze might be turned to their return to continental football which is about to happen very soon. And we will see if this could be enough to distract them here.
Athletic Bilbao Team News
Ernesto Valverde’s side are enjoying the positive beginning of their La Liga campaign and they generally fare quite well at San Mames. However, in the current season, their home record is perfectly split – 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. The most recent of those is their home defeat to Atletico Madrid. But looking overall, Athletic will be returning to San Mames on the back of 2 consecutive league victories which is a good enough platform to improve upon. It should be noted, that the only 2 losses since the start of the season for Ernesto Valverde’s men were against teams that finished above them in the previous edition of La Liga.
Celta Vigo Team News
Celta Vigo is another team that has started the season strong. Recent results have been a far cry from the Rafael Benítez horror show, which The Sky Blues had to endure for a good chunk of last season. His successor, Claudio Giráldez, has done a stellar job by leading his team to their best La Liga start since the 2015/16 season. While Celta looked like fumbling early on with two consecutive losses against Osasuna and Villarreal, their most recent showing against Valladolid has certainly restored the hopes of fans. While a top-six finish like in the 2015/16 season is not on the cards, if Celta continues with stable games like the ones up until now a mid-table finish is more than realistic.
Head-to-Head-Games
Despite Celta’s good start, one thing they must be wary of is their record at San Mames where they have lost their most recent 2 visits. And while The Sky Blues have avoided defeat here in 3 of their last 5 visits, historically Athletic have enjoyed dominance in this fixture at home.
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Athletic Bilbao | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 33 | WWWWD |
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Celta de Vigo | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | -1 | 24 | DLWLW |
Athletic Bilbao – Celta Vigo Betting Prediction
While both teams have had a fine start, my pick here is for an Athletic Bilbao win. The history of their head-to-head with Celta at San Mames is skewed heavily in their favour. Moreover, while Ernesto Valverde’s men have had some bumps along the road, losses have come only against teams that finished above Bilbao last season and Celta is not one such team. Thus, my pick here is for the home side to win and continue turning their home into the fortress it was last season.
Betting Tip: Athletic Bilbao To Win
Bookmaker: Sportsbet.io
Odds: 1.71
Sportsbet.io
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