The 21st-round La Liga match between Sevilla and Athletic Club will take place on 24 january at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. Sevilla vs Athletic Club: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Sevilla
Sevilla continue to go through difficult times and are getting closer to the relegation zone week by week. Their last La Liga match ended in a 2:2 draw with Elche, with the valuable point snatched only in the closing moments. The club ended a run of three straight league defeats, but has gone four matches without a win in the competition. In the last eight La Liga games the home side have beaten only Real Oviedo (4:0), who sit bottom of the table. Sevilla are currently 14th, just two points above 18th place.
- In home matches this La Liga season the team has collected 10 points, fewer only than Real Oviedo (8) and Levante (3).
- Sevilla have conceded in 7 of their last 8 games in this competition.
- This season the club have 32 goals conceded, a worse figure only than Girona (34).
Potential Sevilla Lineup (3-4-3)*
Odysseas Vlachodimos – Nemanja Gudelj, Kike Salas, José Carmona – Juanlu Sánchez, Joaquín Martínez Gauna, Batista Mendy, Jibril Sow – Lucien Agoumé, Peke Fernández, Isaac Romero.
Defenders Cesar Azpilicueta and Tanguy Nianzou, forward Alexis Sánchez, and midfielders Rubén Vargas, Adnan Januzaj and Alfonso González will miss the match due to injuries. Defender Marcao Teixeira and midfielder Batista Mendy are suspended.
Athletic Club
Athletic Club, like Sevilla, have not won in four consecutive La Liga matches and collected only one point in that span. In the last round the visiting team lost a dramatic away clash with Mallorca (2:3). The visitors scored more than one goal for the first time in six league matches, but that was still not enough even for a draw. Athletic Club's last La Liga win came on 6 december, when the club narrowly beat Atlético Madrid 1:0. The team sit 10th in the table.
- The club scored in 5 of their last 7 La Liga games.
- Athletic Club have won with a +1.5 handicap in 6 of their last 8 away league matches.
- The visitors conceded in 5 of their last 6 away matches in this competition.
Potential Athletic Club Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Unai Simón – Jesus Areso, Daniel Vivian, Aitor Paredes, Yuri Berchiche – Mikel Hauregisar, Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta – Nico Williams, Unai Gómez, Alex Berenguer – Gorka Guruzeta.
Defender Iñigo Lekue and forward Gorka Guruzeta are serving suspensions. Due to injuries the team will also be without defenders Aymeric Laporte and Unai Etxebarria, midfielder Beñat Prados, and forwards Iñaki Williams and Marouane Sanaddi.
Sevilla vs Athletic Club: Match Prediction
Although both clubs are showing indistinct form, their matches rarely bore even the neutral viewer. For example, at least two goals were scored in 7 of Sevilla's last 8 La Liga games. Looking strictly at the home side's matches in this competition, the same level of scoring was reached in 9 of their last 11 fixtures.
Athletic Club may not be considered one of the truly flashy teams, but at least two goals were scored in 7 of their last 8 La Liga matches. The same pattern has held in six consecutive away games in the competition. It is also worth adding that fewer than two goals have been seen in only 2 of the last 7 head-to-head La Liga meetings between Sevilla and Athletic Club.
Prediction: Over 2 goals
* The starting lineup shown for each team is from their last match in this competition.
