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Real Betis entertain Athletic Bilbao at Estadio Benito Villamarín in La Liga action on Sunday.
The hosts have found themselves in a rut and are winless in their last five games across all competitions.
The visiting side returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory at home against Levante last week, which helped them reduce the gap between them and the hosts to six points.
Betis suffered a 3-1 loss at home to Atletico Madrid last week and were bested again at Sunday's venue in the Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt. This will be the Andalusian side's fourth game in 10 days, so their resolve will be put to the test here.
Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two clubs have squared off 126 times across all competitions, with their first encounter dating back to 1931. The visiting side have been dominant against their southern rivals and lead 53-37 in wins while 36 games have ended in draws.
- The visiting side dominated the proceeding in their recent encounters against the hosts and have 12 wins in the last 16 games in this fixture. Two games have ended in draws while Betis have two wins in the same period.
- Real Betis have the third-best attacking record in the league with 49 goals. On the flip side, Bilbao boast the joint-third best defensive record, having conceded 26 goals.
- The two sides have completely different approaches defensively, with the hosts averaging 17.3 tackles per game (the second-most in La Liga) while Bilbao make 13.3 tackles on average per game (Only Sevilla make fewer tackles in the Spanish top-flight).
- No team has played fewer stalemates than Los Verdiblancos in La Liga this season (4), while only 18th-placed Cadiz (10) have drawn more games than the visitors (12).
Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction
Real Betis have hit a poor run of form recently. They have scored one goal in each of their last five games across all competitions, which did not prove enough in three of these games.
Los Leones have earned four wins in their last six games in La Liga, the same number they had recorded in their previous 17 games, so they travel to Seville in good form.
Betis looked solid midway through the season but have lost steam recently. The visiting side, on the other hand, have stepped up their game and are the favorites to come out on top.
Prediction: Real Betis 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Athletic Bilbao
Tip 2: Both teams to score - Yes
Tip 3: Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (There have been over 2.5 goals scored in eight of Athletic Bilbao's last 10 league games; There have been over 2.5 goals scored in six of Real Betis's last seven league games)
Tip 4: Athletic Bilbao to score in the second half - Yes (Nine of the visiting side's last 10 goals across all competitions have been scored in the final 45 minutes of games)
