La Liga: Athletic Club vs Girona Odds & Preview
Girona Fall Behind in Title Race
Bilbao Unbeaten in 19 of Last 20 Matches Overall
With last weekend’s 4-0 loss at Real Madrid, title hopefuls Girona fell behind in the La Liga title race. They’re now five points behind Real Madrid in the La Liga table heading into Monday’s match at Athletic Club. Bilbao have lost just one of their last 20 matches, in all competitions, and they’re just two points outside of the top four at the moment. In the most intriguing La Liga game of Matchday 25, we’ll weigh up the Athletic Club vs Girona odds.
Athletic Club vs. Girona
Date, time:
Location: San Mames, Bilbao, Spain
Head-to-Head
This is the second opportunity for soccer betting in this fixture this season. In November, Athletic Club and Girona played to a 1-1 draw at the Estadi Montilivi. Girona are unbeaten in the last three meetings, as they completed a season sweep of Athletic Club last season. Notably, both teams have scored in each of the last four meetings between the two sides. The all-time series is tied 3-3, with one draw.
Athletic Club Hard to Score Against
Athletic Club handed Atletico Madrid their first loss at the Estadio Metropolitano in over a year last week. Alex Berenguer found the net on a penalty for the game’s only goal in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Semifinal. Bilbao kept another clean sheet on Monday, in a La Liga match vs. Almeria, but couldn’t manage to find a winner. Athletic Club hit the woodwork and forced a couple of big saves from Almeria keeper Luis Maximiano, though.
It was a disappointing result for Athletic Club, especially since Almeria went down to ten men in the second half. Still, Bilbao are very much in the Champions League race and are in fifth place in the La Liga standings. Athletic Club are just two points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid at the moment. Plus, no goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in La Liga than Unai Simon this season.
Simon has kept 12 league clean sheets and Athletic Club have conceded just two goals in their last seven games overall. However, a couple of key Athletic Club players could be out for this one. Dani Vivian missed the match vs. Almeria and is questionable here but he’s been a mainstay in Bilbao’s defense. Meanwhile, Nico Williams, who has provided six assists this season, is out. In any case, the Athletic Club vs Girona odds price Bilbao as favorites.
Girona Hit Rough Patch
Quite incredibly, this is the first team all season Girona have failed to win back-to-back matches in all european competitions. Last weekend, Real Madrid showed Girona why they’re title favorites, as Los Blancos destroyed Girona 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Girona didn’t manage to put a single shot on target in the match. The weekend before, Girona also failed to score in a 0-0 draw vs. Real Sociedad.
Even if they’re not able to catch Real Madrid, it’d be a huge accomplishment for Girona to finish in the top four places in the La Liga table. Girona have never before played in the Champions League and they currently hold a ten-point lead over Athletic Club. So, with a potential six-point swing, this is a crucial match for Girona. However, star striker Artem Dovbyk might miss this one due to an undisclosed injury.
Fullback Yan Couto is also suspended for this match. If Dovbyk can’t play, Michel could opt to start Portu up top, as he did vs. Real Sociedad. Dovbyk’s production is hard to replace, as the Ukrainian has scored 14 goals in La Liga this season. The loss vs. Real Madrid was Girona’s first road loss in La Liga this season and they’ll expect to bounce back.
Match Analysis & Odds
As two of the best teams in La Liga meet on Monday, the Athletic Club vs Girona odds price Athletic CLub as even-money ATS and moneyline favorites over Girona. Bilbao haven’t lost at the San Mames since August and have an excellent 9-2-1 record there this season in La Liga. Plus, Athletic Club haven’t conceded in any of their last four matches overall. Girona come in as +260 underdogs but they’ve so often defied the odds this season.
Bettors should keep tabs on Dovbyk’s status in the lead up to this match. In the two game’s he’s missed this season, Girona have only scored one goal and have drawn both. A draw displays +275 odds here and Girona +0.5 sits at -120 odds.
Both over and under 2.5, 3 goals show -110 odds. Still, Athletic Club did hold Girona to one goal the last time the teams met and Bilbao have kept six clean sheets in their last seven games overall. Girona have also kept two clean sheets in their last three and this is shaping up to be a tight match.
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