Valencia vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Tips & Predictions

The 1st Leg last week was played in atrocious conditions at San Mames. Raul Garcia’s 20th minute goal decided the game in favour of the hosts and as important as that was the fact they kept a clean sheet and denied Valencia an away goal. Given Athletic won 3-0 at the Mestalla in the league just a few weeks ago they will have every reason to be confident heading into the 2nd leg.

Athletic Bilbao’s overall form is also very strong. They have won all of their last 5 matches, scoring 13 goals in the process and conceding just 3. They have all but guaranteed themselves European football next season given they are 6th in La Liga and could yet qualify for the Champions League either by maintaining their fine domestic form or by winning this competition.

Valencia are desperate to be in Europe next season too and might need to be if Gary Neville is to maintain his job. It’s looking almost impossible via the league now after they suffered a 1-0 defeat at city rivals Levante at the weekend. They appeared to be back on track when they demolished Rapid Vienna 10-0 over two legs in the last round of this competition but 4 defeats from their subsequent 5 games have made it very clear they still have plenty of issues.

There is quality in this Valencia side but they are a young team and too often a disorganised one that looks like they could concede at any time. They have kept just 6 clean sheets in 26 games under Neville. 2 of them came against Rapid, while a further 2 were against a much-changed Granada side in the Copa del Rey. Against strong opposition they have struggled badly and if they lose this it will be the first time in 9 years, they’ve lost 3 successive home games.

Athletic are a more settled outfit with a nice blend of experience and youth and have an experienced manager who has a good record in cup competitions. They have won 11 of their last 17 away games since beating Partizan in the Europa League group stage and are enjoying life on the road so consider backing Athletic Bilbao to win 2-1 at 9/1.