Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Betting Tips 22/08/2021

14:19, 19 Aug 2021

Senior Author

14:19, 19 Aug 2021

Hi Guys, I'm Akshay, a sports enthusiast and a passionate sports tipster. I always wanted to make some use of my passion for sports, so I started to write match previews on various sports ranging from Cricket, Soccer, Basketball, American Football and Tennis, to spread the little knowledge I have. I am just another free spirit whose life revolves around sports.

Athletic Bilbao will host the mighty Barcelona at the San Manes in Bilbao on 22nd August 2021 at 01:30 IST. The odds are in favor of the Catalans to win the match and make it two wins in a row. Bilbao on the other hand will be looking for their first win.

Teams Status

Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao started their La Liga 2021-22 season with a goalless draw against Elche. The match was pretty even and Bilbao had their chances but couldn’t convert. They are currently in tenth position with just one point in their kitty. This is where they finished last season as well with 46 points including 11 wins, 13 draws and 14 losses. Alex Berenguer was the top scorer for them last season with eight goals. But they are yet to open their account this season. They have stuck to their core team with the likes of Iker Muniain, Raul Garcia, Inaki Williams, Alex Berenguer and Unai Lopez. They haven’t done much shopping in the summer transfer window as they got Alex Petxa as a free transfer. They have a lot of injured players including Aitor Paredes, Andre Kepa, Iñigo Cordoba, Kenan Kodro, Yuri Berchiche and a suspension to Raul Garcia.

Barcelona

After a perfect start to the campaign, Barcelona will be looking for back to back wins when they fare against Athletic Bilbao. In the opening match, they thrashed Real Sociedad in a six goal thriller as they won that match 4-2. Martin Brathwaite was the star for them as the Dane netted twice on either side of the half time break. Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto added one each. But their defense wasn’t that great as they conceded two goals as well. This is their sixth win in the last seven matches across competitions. Barcelona also have five players on that injury list including Ansu Fati, Sergio Aguero, Oscar Mingueza, Ousmane Dembele and Ter Stegen who will miss the Bilbao clash.

What Do the Sportsbooks Say?

Athletic Bilbao	Draw	Barcelona
4.00	3.60	1.90
3.91	3.65	1.92
4.00	3.75	1.95

According to the 10Cric sportsbook, Barcelona are the favorites to win the match and are placed at 1.92, Athletic Bilbao are placed at 3.91 and the draw is at 3.65 odds. Barcelona are placed at 1.95 according to the Dafabet sportsbook, Athletic Bilbao are placed at 4.00 and the draw is at 3.75 odds. According to the Betway sportsbook, Barcelona are placed at 1.90, Athletic Bilbao are placed at 4.00 and the draw is at 3.60 odds.

Tipster’s Angle

This is slightly trickier than it looks as Athletic Bilbao has done against Barcelona at times. But by the looks of their performance in the first match, Barcelona are more likely to take all three points. Also, this could be a high scoring thriller.

Tip: Barcelona To Win @ 1.95

Barcelona have dominated this fixture over the years as they have won nine of the last 15 head to head matches against Athletic Bilbao. In the last five head to head matches, Barcelona have won four matches, while Bilbao have just won one match. Also, Barcelona won the last two head to head matches played away from home. In the last ten matches that Barcelona had played across competitions, they have won six matches, drawn two and lost two matches. Bilbao on the other hand have won just three matches, drew two and lost as many as five matches. So, it is very likely that Barcelona will win the match at 1.95 odds available at the Dafabet sportsbook.

Tip: Total Goals Over 2.5 @ 1.77

In the last five head to head matches, a total of 18 goals were scored at an average of over 3.5 goals per match. And over 2.5 goals were scored in four of those matches. Apart from that, both the last two head to head matches hosted at the San Mames had over 2.5 goals scored in them. In the last ten matches that Barcelona had played across competitions, over 2.5 goals were scored in eight of those matches. While Bilbao has seen over 2.5 goals in three of their last seven matches. Barcelona had a wonderful outing in their first match where a total of six goals were scored. So, it looks like this match could also feature over 2.5 goals at 1.77 odds available at the Betway sportsbook.

Conclusion

Despite not having Messi in their squad, Barcelona had a brilliant start to the season and they would want to continue the same when they travel to Bilbao. Bilbao on the other hand didn’t have the start that they would have liked and will be hoping to exploit the home conditions.