Bétis – Athletic Bilbao (22 Dec 2017)

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After breaking a fast of victories, the Betis tries this Friday, December 22, to re-join the zone of classification for European tournaments through the Spanish Championship. It will face Athletic Bilbao in a match that is part of the schedule of the seventeenth round of the 2017/2018 season of LaLiga. Starting at 4:30 p.m., the match will be held at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium in Seville.

The recent performance of Betis

After four defeats and a draw, results that not only caused his fall in the table of classification of the Spanish Championship but also its early elimination in the Glass of the King of Spain, the Betis managed to defeat the Malaga, outside of house, by 2 to 0, on Monday, December 18, in a game that complemented the sixteenth round of LaLiga.
With 21 points (six wins, three draws and seven losses), he took ninth place and again kept an eye on winning a spot in the European tournament qualifying zone next season. This block, at the end of the previous day, was closed by Villarreal, sixth place, with three points more.
Betis’ challenge now is to break the fast of home victories. In the last three matches of the Spanish league, the alvverde managed to reach only two of the nine points played. Thanks to the good start of the season, it still appears prominently in the table that takes into account only the results of the teams at home. It is the sixth best in this category with 14 points (four wins, two draws and two losses) accumulated.
To face Athletic Bilbao, coach Quique Setien has to deal with four medical doubts. The injured Ryad Boudebouz (nine matches in the 2017/2018 Spanish Championship, one goal) and Andres Guardado (15 matches, one goal) are in the process of injury recovery; and attackers Joel Campbell (three games, one goal) and Antonio Sanabria (12 games, seven goals).

The current form of Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao had a reverse path to Betis in the 2017/2018 season. It started badly and then it got a recovery. In the last ten matches, he had four wins, four draws and only two losses.
It was not enough to satisfy the crowd. After all, one of the defeats was at home, by 1 to 0, for the little Fomentera. It caused elimination in the King’s Cup. Even the best results in the Spanish Championship did not cause the expected improvement in the leaderboard.
After the goalless draw, also in Bilbao, against Real Sociedad, on Saturday, December 16, Athletic came to appear in a very modest fourteenth place. He has 18 points (four wins, six draws and six losses).
One of their strongholds in the previous season, the home campaign had a brutal drop in yield and is said to be the main responsible for the situation below the expectation in the classification. In the last four rounds of LaLiga, Athletic managed to add only three of the 12 points they played in Bilbao.
As a visitor, the situation is slightly higher. With a win and a draw in the two most recent matches, he had the eleventh best campaign in the matter with eight points added in 24 disputed. Nothing spectacular.
Against Betis, coach Jose Ziganda may not be able to count on midfielder Andre Iturraspe (12 matches in the 2017/2018 Spanish League without a goal) and striker Iker Muniain (six games, one goal). They are in the infirmary in treatment of injuries.

History of matches between Bétis and Athletic Bilbao
The home factor was decisive in the encounters involving the teams in the last season of the Spanish Championship. In Seville, Betis made it 1-0. In Bilbao, Athletic scored 2-1.

Betis managed not only to win but to perform very well at the start of the year. He had a great drop in performance, but he indicated that he was on the right path. Thus, it becomes the best option of guess for the duel of this Friday with prize of 2.65 in Rivalo. Draw shows return of 3.40 and successful visitor yields 2.55 per real invested.

Our Prediction: Betis win @ 2.65

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