Genk vs Athletic Bilbao predictions, betting tips & match preview

Genk and Athletic Bilbao’s first ever meeting comes in an incredibly tight Europa League group. With all four sides on three points, this round of fixtures will be hugely important in the race for qualification. Can Athletic carry over their La Liga form, or will Genk make it back to back home wins in Europe?

The Spaniards come in as favourites, but it’s worth taking a look at Genk and their recent record. They’ve put together some strong form, and they’ll certainly be a tough obstacle for the La Liga side. They’ve scored at least twice in their last five games in this competition, racking up 13 goals in total. They’ve won four in a row at home in the Europa League, while they’ve lost just one of their last nine home matches.

Athletic have quite a few problems ahead of this clash, they were hammered 3-0 at Sassuolo in their last Europa League game. That match was the first time in eight Europa League away games that they’d failed to score. Their domestic record is more impressive, having scored in every away trip they’ve played in La Liga so far. It’s safe to say many of those proved to be tougher opposition that Genk will. They sit sixth in the table, just a point off fourth spot.

In their four away matches they’ve conceded five times, but they’ve shipped eight in six, if you include the Europa League defeat. While they have a strong defence, it’s not without problems. In their two group games they’ve conceded from 42% of the shots they’ve faced. That’s an awful record, which shows how poorly they played in their last trip.

They should get the chance to make things right here. Outside of qualifying games, Genk have conceded in six consecutive Europa League games. The Belgian side have let in 11 in their last five league games, and they’ve conceded an average of 1.5 goals per game in Belgium. Seeing as Athletic have scored 1.63 per game in Spain, they shouldn’t draw a blank on the road this time around.

The last five league games Athletic have played have seen no clean sheets. We’re backing a similar outcome when they travel to Belgium. Genk are clearly a decent side going forward, having put three past Sassuolo. They’ve also conceded four in their last two Europa League games. Both teams to score is our bet for this game, it’s priced at 4/5 with bet365.