Wednesday brings us a plethora of very interesting matches, and this time we have analyzed the first leg of the Spanish Copa del Rey semi-final, in which Atletico Madrid will host Athletic Bilbao at their Wanda Metropolitano. The start of the match between these two teams is scheduled for 9:30 pm.
Atletico Madrid: Impressive Performances in the Last Month!
Last season was one to forget, as the Rojiblancos were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, but despite this, the team from the capital managed to finish in one of the top four positions, which of course guarantees a place in the new edition of Europe’s premier club competition, a primary goal in Madrid for years, specifically since Diego Simeone took over the team’s helm.
After more than half of the championship, it seems that the Argentine coach has slightly changed his philosophy, and we have often witnessed the Colchoneros playing for one more goal. When we look at things from this perspective, it’s no wonder that Atletico Madrid lost those matches, particularly the duel in Catalonia in the league, where Girona celebrated a 4:3 victory, and in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup, where Real Madrid triumphed 5:3.
An interesting fact is that Atletico conceded 25 goals in 23 matches in the Spanish championship, giving an average of more than one goal conceded per match, which is certainly not something we have encountered in the past few years.
Overall, it seems that the fans of this club have reasons to be satisfied, primarily because their favorite team managed to reach the knockout phase of the Champions League, finishing first in a group ahead of Lazio, Feyenoord, and Celtic.
For the round of 16 in the elite competition, the Spanish representative drew Inter Milan, and Diego Simeone’s men will undoubtedly have a tough task, as the Nerazzurri are playing at a very high level this season.
In the last five La Liga matches, the currently fourth-placed team achieved three victories, one draw, and one loss, the latter in the mentioned visit to Girona with a 4:3 scoreline, in one of the best matches of the season so far.
In the previous round, Atletico managed to withstand their city rivals Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu, with the duel ending in a 1:1 draw, noting that the guests equalized in the third minute of stoppage time, with a goal by Llorente.
Regarding the Copa del Rey, the team from the capital had a quite challenging path to the semi-finals, as they first managed to eliminate Real Madrid and avenge their Super Cup defeat, and then outperformed Sevilla in the quarterfinals, which was Sevilla’s only chance to qualify for a European club competition for the next season through the Copa del Rey.
Finally, the last head-to-head match between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao was played in mid-December last year, when the pride of the Basque Country celebrated a 2:0 victory without much trouble at their stadium.
Athletic Bilbao: Can the Basques Reach Another Copa del Rey Final?
Athletic Bilbao is known as one of the most trophy-laden Spanish clubs, and probably few people know that this team has won the Spanish championship eight times. Admittedly, the last time was way back in 1984, but it’s also worth remembering that the team from the Basque Country has won the Spanish Copa del Rey 23 times, also lastly 40 years ago, and in the same year, Bilbao also clinched the Super Cup trophy, making that year arguably the most successful in the club’s 126-year history.
Athletic has won the Super Cup two more times, the last being three years ago, when they triumphed over Barcelona in the grand final with a 3-2 scoreline. It’s well known that only Basques, or players of Basque descent, can play for this club, meaning Bilbao has essentially played without foreigners since its inception, and it’s also noteworthy that this team has never been relegated.
When tallying all the trophies won, Athletic Bilbao is the third most successful Spanish team, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. Last season was not overly successful, as the team finished eighth in the league, thus ending without a spot in any European competitions.
Despite this, Ernesto Valverde was trusted to continue, and from this perspective, it seems to have been a great decision, as the team from the Basque Country is playing at a very high level this season. Currently, Athletic is in fifth place in the league, just three points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, giving the impression that they will fight not only for a spot in the Europa League but also try to attack the fourth position, which, as is well known, brings direct qualification to the Champions League.
In their last five matches, Ernesto Valverde’s men have achieved three victories, one draw, and one loss, the latter being an away game against Valencia with a 1-0 score. In the previous round, the fifth-placed team played a fantastic match at home, easily defeating Mallorca with a 4-0 scoreline.
However, before that, the Basque team only managed a draw in their visit to Cadiz, and if Athletic wants to secure a Champions League spot by the end of the season, they simply must win matches like that. Regarding away performances, Bilbao has played eleven matches away from home, securing four victories, as many draws, and three losses, noting that the team is known to play much better at home than away.
On their journey to the Copa del Rey semi-finals, this team first eliminated Alaves and then Barcelona after extra time, with a 4-2 result.
Our Betting Suggestions
First of all, it seems that in this first encounter, we shouldn’t expect too many goals, as the stakes are indeed huge. Therefore, we advise you to try the Total UNDERÂ 2.5 Goals bet, for which the bookmaker betBonanza has prepared odds of 1.75.
When all is said and done, it appears that the Rojiblancos are the favorites in this duel, so we highly recommend focusing on Atletico Madrid to Win, with fantastic odds of 1.97 at betBonanza.
Finally, it might be ideal to try a combination of 1X and Total UNDERÂ 3.5 Goals, all with odds of 1.53 at betBonanza.
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