LaLiga 2022-23: Athletic Club v Real Betis: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

Real Betis visits Rojiblancos as the fight for the sixth spot reaches its final stages.

With the race among the top – 6 reaching its final stages with only six matches to play, Top – 3 are all but confirmed with Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid getting settled in their respective places. Real Sociedad is sitting at the fourth spot with 5 points advantage over fifth-placed Villareal and 9 points advantage over sixth-placed Real Betis.

This only leaves Europa Qualifications in contention for other teams placed within Top – 9.  All teams are separated by just 3 points and two of the teams placed next to each other will be fighting for valuable points on Friday. Both the teams had an average season but now it comes down to wire in order to salvage something for next season.

Athletic Bilbao are on a decent run with the 1-1 away draw at Mallorca, Athletic Bilbao did not repeat the performance of their previous match and shared the points this time, bringing their winless run to 2 matches in the league. The team has won 4 of their last 8 matches in LaLiga. Athletic Bilbao has conceded an average of 1.00 goals per game since the beginning of the season in the league. Athletic Bilbao form stats indicate an average number of goals conceded per game of 0.75 in the last 8 league matches, which is 25% lower than their current season's average.

In the last outing, Real Betis got thrashed by the league leaders as they failed to score a goal and conceded four against Barcelona which has left their goal difference at just +2. Real Betis have lost their last 3 away matches, bringing their winless run to 3 matches, and failed to score in their last 2 games in the league. The team has lost 4 of their last 8 matches in LaLiga.

Real Betis stats show the team has picked up an average of 1.53 points per league game since the beginning of the season. Their form stats indicate that in the last 8 league matches the team's points per game value has been averaging 1.00, which is 34.6% lower than their current season's average. This leaves them in a very tricky spot after having a decent season and they face the danger of getting out of the Europe qualification zone.

Kick-off:

Thursday, 04-05-2023, 08:00 pm (ET)

Friday, 05-05-2023, 01:30 am (IST)

Stadium: San Mamés stadium, Bilbao city, Spain

Athletic Club Form (In All Competitions): D- L- W- W- W

Real Betis Form (In All Competitions): L- D- L- W- L

Player to watch

Athletic Club: Inaki Williams

Black Stars forward Inaki Williams continued his rich run of form in La Liga after scoring late to secure a point for Athletic Bilbao in the game against Real Mallorca.

Williams converted from the spot in injury time as the Rojiblancos returned to San Memes with a valuable point. It was his fifth goal in the last six games for Athletic Bilbao, who are chasing an European place finish this season. The 28-year-old Spain-born Ghanaian is enjoying one of his most prolific campaigns in Spain, having scored nine goals in La Liga this season. He also scored a goal in the Copa Del Rey as Athletic Club reached the semi-final of the competition.

Real Betis: Sergio Canales

With Nabil Fekir and Borja Iglesias injured, Betis would be hoping for their main midfielder to take charge on the field. Sergio Canales has scored 4 goals in 25 matches so far in the La Liga 2022/2023 season. 2 of the 4 goals were scored at home while he scored 2 goals at away games. Overall, Sergio Canales's goals scored per 90 minutes is 0.19. Moreover, Sergio Canales's total G/A (goals + assists) is 6 for this season. His goal involvement is not much he could be the one commanding the midfield and linking up plays with the attackers.

Match Facts

• Betis have just won 02 games out of the last 14 games played against Athletic Bilbao.
• Athletic Bilbao has conceded 3 in the last 3 matches and has lost only 2 of their 10 away games.
• Real Betis are winless in their last 3 games and conceding 7 times in the last 3 matches and have only 2 wins in 10 matches.

Injury and Team News

Athletic Club: Injury:

Jon Morcillo – Broken Collarbone

Iker Muniain – Calf Muscle Strain

Inigo Martinez - Hamstring

Real Betis: Injury:

Nabil Fekir – ACL Knee Ligament

Youssouf Sabaly – Ankle/Foot Injury

Victor Ruiz - Hamstring

Borja Iglesias - Knock

Head to Head stats

Matches – 20

Athletic Club – 12

Real Betis – 04

Draws – 04

Predicted Lineups for Athletic Club v Real Betis

Athletic Club Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

J Agirrezabala, yuri, Yeray, Dani Vivian, Aitor Parades, Mikel Vesga, Ander Herrera, Alex Berenguer, Raul Garcia, I. Williams, Gorka Guruzeta

Real Betis Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Rui Silva, Juan Miranda, Luiz Felipe, G. Pezzella, Martin Montoya, William Carvahlo, G. Rodriguez, Ayoze Perez, Sergio Canales, Luiz Henrique, Willian Jose

Match Prediction

This fixture will be an important clash for deciding the next season’s Europe qualifications as both teams are sitting next to each other in the league table. Athletic has the better run of form in the previous matches whereas Real Betis are spiraling downwards since the red cards and injuries scarce to their Top Scorer and midfielder Borja Iglesias. Athletic will go into the match as the favorites and will look to create a better goal difference having reached the last stage of the season while Real Betis will need to play out of their skins to force a point or favorable results.

Prediction: Athletic Club 2 – 1 Real Betis

Telecast

India – Jio TV

USA – ESPN+

United Kingdom - Free Sports

Nigeria – Supersport, StarTimes, Canal+