Copa del Rey – Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona: Betting Preview

Following an agonizing defeat against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona return to action as they play Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie.

Bilbao had a surprising victory against Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa semi-final, however, could not handle the force from Los Blancos in the final. But, tonight, they will hope to trouble Xavi’s struggling side.

Blaugrana are also willing to get back in shape despite a miserable start to their campaign. Unfortunately, Copa del Rey will be Barca’s last chance to lift a major silverware this season.

Season facts for Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona.

Facts are calculated for Copa del Rey

• Athletic Bilbao did not win the last 3 matches in a row at home;
• Athletic Bilbao scored in the last 17 of 19 matches;
• Athletic Bilbao conceded in the last 8 of 10 matches;
• Total goals was UNDER 3.5 in Athletic Bilbao’s last 3 of 5 matches.

• Barcelona has won the last 3 matches in a row;
• Barcelona has won in the last 6 of 7 matches;
• Barcelona has won in the last 5 of 6 matches when playing away;
• Barcelona scored in the last 12 of 14 matches.

Lineup Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona

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Current form — Athletic Bilbao v. Barcelona

The form of both teams is one of the biggest things to consider before placing a bet on the upcoming game.

Bilbao look confident

Although they lost the Spanish Super Cup final to Real Madrid by 2-0, results have been pretty decent for Los Leones. They beat Atletico in the semi-final by 2-1, but had a goalless draw against Alaves in La Liga before that.

Barca aim for consistency

Barcelona go into this encounter high on confidence following 3 wins from their last 6 matches. In their previous three encounters, however, they have seen it all. They started with a 2-1 win over Linares followed by a 1-1 draw against Granada. Their recent battle was a 3-2 El Clasico defeat at the hands of Real Madrid.

It has the look of an equal match up, in theory, Barcelona, however, still represent slightly better value in our opinion than Athletic Bilbao. Bookies have a home win priced at 3.25 while paying out 2.25 for the away win. Should they split the points, the draw ramps up a potential accumulator at 3.40 with the bookmakers, depending on your preferred betting strategy.

Athletic Bilbao v. Barcelona — fixture history

The fixture history of the two teams delivers good insights that are worth considering before placing a bet on the upcoming game.

Barcelona enjoy the upper hand

Athletic Bilbao took a knock when Barcelona handed them a 4-0 defeat in their last Copa del Rey encounter. The former did win the reverse match though, as they secured 3 points to their name by claiming a 1-0 win. Occasionally fans have to endure a low scoring encounter, but generally, their matches tend to be entertaining clashes with 7 of the previous 10 going over 2.5 goals. All in all, Barcelona have had a fine reading on Athletic Bilbao in previous seasons in the Copa del Rey with a 6-2-2 advantage going into this match.

Full Time Betting

It doesn’t matter whether your betting strategy involves accumulators or singles, the bookmakers will offer odds on this game. Athletic Bilbao are currently priced at 3.25 to win, while the draw is 3.40. The away win for Barcelona at 2.25 could also rack up an accumulator. Athletic Bilbao claimed all three points 5 times in their last 10 home league matches, while also drawing 1 game along the way. They had to endure 4 defeats in this run of games. Barcelona won 7 of their last 10 league games away while drawing 0 times. They had to endure 3 defeats in this series of matches.

Both teams scored a goal in 3 of the last 10 home league matches for Athletic Bilbao. Both teams also found the back of the net 4 times in the previous 10 league games away for Barcelona.

BTTS

The chance of both teams to score (BTTS) in this match is as high as 57%, judging by the odds on offer with the bookmakers. This equals a decent payout of odds 1.75 if you wish to place a bet on BTTS. Accordingly betting on a “NO” in the BTTS market pays out at odds 2.05. Over / Under – stats message

SUMMARY MESSAGE.

Over/Under Betting

Looking at the prices on offer by the bookmakers, the chance of this match going over 2.5 goals is 50%. This equals odds 2.00 if you wish to place a bet on OVER 2.5 goals. Speculating in the opposite outcome of under 2.5 goals pays out at 1.80. Athletic Bilbao’s last 10 home league matches saw an average of 2.4 goals a game. 5 of Athletic Bilbao’s last 10 home matches had over 2.5 goals. Barcelona’s last 10 away league games averaged 3.1 goals per game. 5 of the last 10 away matches for Barcelona went over 2.5 goals.

Primary Goal Scorer