Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao

La Liga’s ruthless battle for European qualification enters a crunch period as Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao lock horns at Estadio Benito Villamarin.

These are challenging times for Betis’ long-serving manager Manuel Pellegrini after Dinamo Zagreb crashed his side out of the Europa League knockout playoff round 2-1 on aggregate (0-1 H, 1-1 A). Things look slightly better in La Liga, where they trail sixth-placed Real Sociedad by a single point after alternating between draws (2) and wins (2) across their last four outings. On the bright side, Benito Villamarin has been a fortress this season, with Los Verdiblancos only losing one league match on home turf (W6, D6), though they’re winless in their last three such contests (D2, L1). Betis will have to improve that form if they’re to avenge a dismal 4-2 defeat in the reverse fixture and, in turn, avoid suffering a league doubt at the hands of Bilbao for the first time since 2017/18.

Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao showed no mercy to La Liga surprise package Girona earlier this weekend, running out 3-2 victors on home turf to reignite their top-four hopes. After Atletico Madrid’s draw at Almeria, a first league win at Benito Villamarin since December 2017 would draw Bilbao level on points with fourth-placed Los Rojiblancos. But that’s a daunting task, considering they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet in their last three away league H2Hs (D2, L1). Scoring has been a problem for Los Leones on the road in 2024, as they’ve drawn a blank on three consecutive La Liga travels since a 2-0 win at Sevilla in early January. But they only conceded once in those three matches, suggesting a low-scoring contest could be on the cards.