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Valencia logo
La Liga | Gameweek 33
Jul 1, 2020 at 6.30pm UK
Mestalla
Athletic Bilbao logo

Valencia
0 - 2
Athletic Bilbao


Diakhaby (83')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Garcia (13', 47')

Preview: Valencia vs. Athletic Bilbao - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's La Liga contest between Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, including team news and predicted lineups.

Valencia and Athletic Bilbao meet at the Mestalla on Wednesday evening with just one point separating the clubs in the La Liga standings.

Sitting in eighth and ninth position respectively, each club is under pressure to get another win on the board as they bid to qualify for next season's Europa League.


Match preview

Valencia boss Albert Celades pictured on November 5, 2019© Reuters

Although Valencia sit just three points behind sixth place, Albert Celades will be aware that he is fighting to keep his job at the Mestalla in the long term.

Just two victories have been recorded from their last 10 matches, and it leaves Los Che with little momentum heading into their closing half-a-dozen outings.

Back-to-back defeats without scoring a goal have been posted on the road against Eibar and Villarreal, results which have realistically left the club out of the running for a Champions League spot.

Nevertheless, club officials will be eager to earn qualification for the Europa League, aware that any financial benefits over the next 12 months could prove crucial if they wish to remain as one of the nation's top clubs.

Despite holding a slender advantage in the table over their next opponents, there is little doubting that Athletic head into this contest as the favourites.

Eight points have been recorded from five games since the resumption, with their only defeat coming at the hands of Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Wins were registered against Real Betis and Mallorca either side of that blip, ensuring that Athletic remain as the form team of the clubs battling it out for sixth.

Although no players are necessarily standing out in the final third, just five goals have been conceded in as many games, an impressive return when also taking into account that they returned to action with a clash against Atletico Madrid.

However, with Real Madrid and Sevilla to follow their clash with Valencia, Gaizka Garitano knows that it is the wrong time to suffer a 10th league defeat of the season.

Valencia La Liga form: DDLWLL

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form: WDDWLW


Team News

Valencia's Rodrigo Moreno celebrates scoring their first goal on September 17, 2019© Reuters

Rodrigo Moreno could potentially drop out of the Valencia starting lineup to accommodate the return of Kevin Gameiro.

Goncalo Guedes is also a likely starter on the left flank, but Jose Gaya is expected to miss out due to injury.

Eliaquim Mangala is back in contention after serving a one-match ban.

Barring any late fitness issues, Garitano is unlikely to make any alterations to his Athletic starting lineup.

Iker Muniain may feel that his place is under threat after a number of ineffective showings in quick succession.

Valencia possible starting lineup:
Cillessen; Florenzi; Paulista, Mangala, Costa; Torres, Kondogbia, Parejo, Guedes; Gameiro, Gomez

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Capa, Alvarez, Martinez, Yuri; Lopez, D.Garcia; Williams, Sancet, Muniain; R.Garcia


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Valencia 1-2 Athletic Bilbao

Despite having home advantage, we make Valencia the underdogs heading into this contest. Athletic are beginning to put together some momentum, and another victory here will leave the teams above them looking over their shoulders.



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Written by
Darren Plant

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Valencia win with a probability of 41.39%. A win for Athletic Bilbao had a probability of 31.94% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.

The most likely scoreline for a Valencia win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.88%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.64%) and 2-0 (7.42%). The likeliest Athletic Bilbao win was 0-1 (9.29%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.67%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.4% likelihood.


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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona17122350193138
2Real Madrid17114237162137
3Atletico MadridAtletico16105130111935
4Athletic Bilbao1795326151132
5Mallorca188371821-327
6Villarreal157532725226
7Osasuna176742225-325
8Real Sociedad167361611524
9GironaGirona176472325-222
10Sevilla176471823-522
11Real BetisBetis165651820-221
12Celta Vigo176382528-321
13Rayo Vallecano165561819-120
14Las PalmasLas Palmas165382227-518
15Getafe163761113-216
16AlavesAlaves164391827-915
17Leganes163671423-915
18Espanyol1642101528-1314
19Real ValladolidValladolid1733111234-2212
20Valencia152491323-1010


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