Valladolid take on the visitors Athletic Bilbao in the round 26 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Friday, February 17th at Estadio José Zorrilla (Valladolid).
Valladolid spent last season in Segunda, but thanks to the right choice of mentor in Pacheta, they managed to secure 2nd place and a direct ticket to the top division of Spain. They have shown themselves to be worthy of the new-old level of the Spanish football elite. However, in the current La Liga draw, the competition is high for survival, and a number of potential underdogs are doing well, gaining more than a point on average per match. To keep at a comfortable distance from the danger zone, Valladolid needs to take points actively. They have been doing well so far, managing to avoid losing three times in a row and not conceding a goal in matches against Valencia, Real Sociedad, and Osasuna. They did, however, lose to both Betis and Celta, but started the spring season with a 2-1 win at home against Espanyol. They had a great chance to win against Elche, but the worst team of the draw bounced back in the 6th added minute. This led to two removals for Valladolid and a couple of lost points, which could still backfire.
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Athletic had played under Marcelino in previous years, but after he could not take the team back to the contenders for European cups, he was replaced by Valverde in the summer. The team started higher than expected with five wins in the first seven rounds, but then the results deteriorated. They were partly offset by a promotion in the Cope del Rey, but in the first cup semi-final, they lost to Osasuna with a 0-1 scoreline. There is still a chance for Athletic to finish the season with a pass to the Europa League if not the Champions League. However, their latest results in the Example have not been inspiring, with defeats to Atlético and Girona, and only a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano. In the last round, they lost to Barcelona with a 0-1 scoreline in El Clasico.
"Puselanos" have played well against "Basques" lately, even scoring four points out of six possible in the 2020/2021 season. However, after returning to La Liga, they lost 0-3 to Athletic in November. Although Athletic is expected to be the favorite, there is no guarantee that they will score to win. Therefore, we recommend betting on "total under 2.5 goals" for this match.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
