Along with a much-needed rest, Sunday’s bring to us the excitement of league matches all around Europe. In the Spanish La Liga, Valencia welcome Atheltic Bilbao hoping for three points to continue their impressive season, while Villareal plays hosts to Eibar as they look to make the most of the home advantage.
VALENCIA vs. ATHLETIC BILBAO
Three-way: 1: Valencia -111; X: +292 Draw; 2: Athletic Bilbao +409
Spread -0.5: Valencia -123; Athletic Bilbao +117
Total +2.5: Over -106; Under +100
VALENCIA
After last season’s poor showing, it was very important that Valencia show a real desire to jump up to the European spots again in the La Liga table. And for the same, a good start was a must. They seemed to have learned their lessons well, as they have made a really positive start to the La Liga season. They have managed to strike a nice balance between defensive solidity and quick attacking play to hold off even the toughest of opponents.
They are one of the few teams in top five European top-flight leagues that haven’t lost even once in this season. They have been defensive when needed, and have attacked with aplomb when presented with the opportunity. Their record over the last six games is 3-3-0. During this period, they have scored an impressive 12 goals, while conceding five, also keeping three clean sheets, showing their resilience.
Both of their last two league games were impressive wins. The first of these two was a home match against Malaga, where Valencia, lead by Simeone Zaza, absolutely battered the visitors, as the match finished 5:0. Following this emphatic win, they went to Sociedad, where he played out a thrilling match and ran out as 3:2 victors. This match showed that as and when needed, Valencia can hold of opponents irrespective of the scoreline and the players at disposal.
Under new manager Marcelinho, the players seem to have found a new lease of life, as demonstrated best by Simeone Zaza as the Italian striker has already scored five goals in six appearances this season. After him, Spanish forward Rodrigo has also chipped in with three goals and an assist to take Valencia to the top four places in the league. Midfielder Carlos Soler has shown his vision and creativity, as he has provided four assists so far, while also scoring one goal.
Centre back Ruben Vezo is still out as he recovers from his fractured toe, while winger Nacho Gil is also out with an ankle injury. Apart from these two, midfielder Kondongbia is suspended for this match as he got two yellow cards in the previous match.
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Like their opponents, Bilbao has also started their La Liga season well in the first few games. However, their form has currently tailed off as they have lost games against teams that they were supposed to win, at least in principle. They have slipped down to 11th position in the La Liga, although there is more than enough time to come back to their usual places at the top half of the table. The fans are still loud enough at games and will continue to do so, but the players and the manager will be hoping that they dispel the clouds of tension developing among them as the season progresses.
At the start of the season, they embarked on an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which raised the bar for the team. However, after the next four games, suddenly the mood has changed completely. Their record over the last six games is 1-2-3, which is definitely below the expectations one has from Bilbao. During this period, they scored six goals, while conceding 7, which again, is not expected from Athletic Bilbao as they are known for their defensive organization.
Their last match, in particular, was a big disappointment. Playing against Zorya Luhansk in the Europa league, at home, Bilbao were expected to take all three points without any trouble. However, they failed to do that and even ended up losing 0:1 to the Ukrainian minnows, who in truth, worked really hard to get the result. Before this shock defeat, they conceded a 3:1 lead at Malaga to end the match 3:3, highlighting their defensive deficiencies.
In spite of the sudden dip in form, there are a few players who are still delivering notably their front three. Veteran striker Aritzu Aduriz has scored three goals in six league appearances, while young wingers Munain and Williams have tried to provide width from the flanks, and have been successful to quite some extent, as they have provided 3 assists each, and scored three goals between them in six appearances together.
Yeray Alvarez has beaten cancer for the second time, as his girlfriend announced, and will return to the club, although not immediately. They will also be without rapid winger Munain, as he injured his ACL yesterday. Along with these two players, Oscar De Marcos will also be on the treatment table, as he recovers from a sprained ankle.
VALENCIA vs. ATHLETIC BILBAO- Match Prediction:
Athletic Bilbao is a good team with no doubt, with some extremely good players that can turn the match on its head with a moment of brilliance. However, Valencia has been in considerably better form, and are well rested as they do not have any European commitments, in contrast to Bilbao who played their Europa League group stage match in the midweek. Therefore, my prediction for this clash will be a home win for Valencia, although they will face resistance from Bilbao.
MY PREDICTION: Valencia to win (-111)
VILLARREAL vs. EIBAR
Three-way: 1: Villarreal -108; X: +282 Draw; 2: Eibar +420
Spread -0.5: Villarreal -120; Eibar +116
Total +2.5: Over +110; Under -115
VILLARREAL
It is safe to say that Villareal has made a topsy-turvy start to the season in La Liga. After losing their first couple of games, they recovered and put in some good performances to grab nine points in a row. However, currently, they still seem to be some way off the Villarreal that we saw last year, as they defensive solidity seems to be missing, maybe due to the departure of influential centre-back Mussachio to AC Milan. However, the loss of one player should not be an excuse for any team, and Villareal could get back to the top half of the La Liga table sooner rather than later.
Their record over the last six games in all competitions has been 3-2-1, which is not poor by any means, but still not as good as it can be for Villarreal, especially with the opponents they faced. During this period, they scored 9 goals, although all of them came in the first three matches, which were wins. On the other hand, they conceded 6, with four of those coming in the defeat last week against Getafe. Nevertheless, they managed to keep three clean sheets also in these matches.
Their last league match was a disappointing 4:0 away defeat against newly promoted Getafe, which was surprising considering the fact the Villareal looked to be in much better form and had seemingly more experienced players. After this embarrassment, they had a match against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa league, where surprisingly, they again failed to score. The 0:0 draw was a really unexpected result considering the difference in the quality of players in both the squads, with all due respect to the Israeli squad.
Centre forwards Carlos Bacca and Cedric Bakambu have both scored two goals each, while winger Samu Castillejo has chipped in with a goal and an assist to his name. There haven’t been many other outlets for goals in the current team so far in this season.
Apart from their dip in form, they have had to deal with a lot of injury problems to their key men. Both the keepers Andres Fernandez and Sergio Asenjo are out with ACL ruptures, while midfielder Bruno Soriano and left back Adrian Marin are both out until October at the very least with leg and knee injuries respectively.
EIBAR
After last season’s tenth place finish in the La Liga, people expected Eibar to build on it and have another decent season and maybe aim for the top half of the La Liga table. However, judging from the results obtained in the first few matches, it looks extremely difficult that they will be able to finish in the midtable, let alone the top half. Yes, it is far from decided as just six matches has been played, but looking at the performances of this team, it is really difficult to envisage anything other than them getting stuck in a relegation battle.
They have managed only two wins in their first six matches in the La Liga this season. Their record over these games has been 2-0-4, and all those four defeats have been extremely disappointing ones. They conceded a massive 14 goals in these matches while scoring just thrice. Such statistics call for improvements in both attacking and defensive department.
Their last match was at home against Celta Vigo, where the visitors thrashed Eibar by 0:4. The home crowd who had been supporting the team through thick and thin, also found it hard to raise their voice for such a limp team. Prior to this fixture they visited Catalan giants Barcelona, only to get thrashed 6:1, with Lionel Messi wreaking havoc on them.
Sergi Enrich, Galvez and Charles have the three goals split between them equally. On the negative side, Fran Rico, Pedro Leon and Ivan Alejo, all three will be out for the weekend with knee injuries, while goalkeeper Joel Rodriguez will not be back until December as he recovers from a Cruciate Ligament tear.
VILLARREAL vs. EIBAR – Match Prediction
Both the teams are having a blip in form, albeit of different magnitudes. The Yellow submarines have put in many good performances this season, something that Eibar has struggled with. And with the home crowd behind them, I think they will have added motivation to make sure that they don’t mess this matchup. Therefore, my prediction will be a home win in this match.
MY PICK: Villarreal to win (-108)
