This Sunday brings to us two matches that have very high importance for the teams involved in both of them. The first one covered in this two match preview is the Athletic Bilbao vs CD Leganes clash. Bilbao will be hoping to grab a win, so as to reaffirm their Europa league credentials, as Real Sociedad is breathing right down their necks with same amount of points. On the other side, Leganes needs at least 1 point from the remaining two matches to confirm their Spanish La Liga status for the next season. The second match is featuring Eibar and Sporting Gijon. It will be a now or never moment for Gijon, as they need to take all three points to stand any chance of remaining in the Spanish La Liga next season.
ATHLETIC BILBAO vs. CD LEGANES
3-Way: 1: ATHLETIC BILBAO -200; X: +400 Draw; 2: CD LEGANES +810
Spread -1.5: ATHLETIC BILBAO +141; CD LEGANES -137
Total+2.5: Over +100; Under +110
ATHLETIC BILBAO
As the Spanish La Liga season comes close to an end, it is very crucial for Bilbao to go for maximum points in the next two fixtures. The Bilbao team is tied on points with Villareal, and are ahead only on goal difference. Therefore, it will be very important for the club not to drop points in these last two matches. If they manage to hold ground, it will indeed be another strong season where they finish in European competitions’ places. They have been very good this season, scoring a decent amount of goals, but having a very solid defense, which has seen them grab points from opponents.
Sitting at the 6th position of the Spanish La Liga, the Los Leones have accrued 62 points, and can still finish the season as high as 4th, if all the results go in their favor. They are in a good run of form at home, with their current home record over the last 6 games being 5-0-1. They have been defeated for the first time in 5 matches, when they lost last weekend to Alaves 1:0 away. The efficiency that the club has shown this season in scoring more than the opponent and preserving the lead, is clear in the stat that they have won matches with the score being 2:1, seven times this season.
With veteran Aritz Aduriz leading the line, Bilbao has been a decent team when it comes to scoring goals. They have scored 51 goals in the Spanish La Liga till now, with 35 of them coming at home. Their defense has been very strong this season, as they have conceded only 39 goals, while keeping 10 clean sheets. Only 3 teams have topped that accomplishment. With only 17 goals coming at home, it can be made out that Bilbao are better at home than on the road.
Spanish striker Aduriz has been their talisman in scoring goals, as has been the case in most seasons. He has scored a healthy 15 goals in the Spanish La Liga, and also provided an assist. Midfielder Raul Garcia has been pretty handy in getting involved in front of the goal too. He has scored 10 goals, and provided 4 assists toll now. Goalkeeper Kepa Ruvuelta has kept 7 clean sheets in the league.
Defender Aymeric Laporte, who has been in many transfer rumors, will miss the match through suspension. Raul Garcia, Enric Saborit, and Balenziaga are all doubts with muscular leg injuries.
CD LEGANES
After gaining promotion to the Spanish La Liga, many people predicted that Leganes will find it hard to adapt to the league. And to the surprise of a very few people, that has exactly been the case. However, all is not lost, as they are almost in the safe zone. They need just 1 point from their remaining two matches, to ensure their survival in the next league season. It is important that they play the remaining two matches with attacking intent, and utmost concentration, because it is still mathematically possible that they will get relegated.
Sitting at the 16th position of the Spanish La Liga, Leganes have done well to not be already relegated, like Granada and Osasuna. Still, they haven’t been in the best of form for any stretch of this season. However, they have managed to defeat Real Betis with an emphatic 4:0 win, and that might give them the motivation needed to go and grab points this weekend, which will ensure their survival in the Spanish top flight. Their poor season has been clear for all to see, as a 0:2 loss has been their most frequent result. It has happened 6 times so far.
They have accrued a total of 33 points in the league, with 20 of them coming at home. They have a very poor attack. Leganes has just managed to score 34 times this season, which is better than only one other club in the league. 21 of those goals have come at home. Their defense has been considerably better, even though they have conceded 53 goals. They have been impressively strong at the back to maintain clean sheets. They have 11 clean sheets in the league.
Alexander Szymanowski has been their top scorer, with 7 goals in the league till now, and 2 assists. Nabil El Zhar has been a good performer for the club this season, with a goal in their last match. He has 4 goals and 4 assists to his name in the league. Fortunately, Lega do not have many injury troubles. Only players missing out will be Robert Ibanez and Jon Ander Serantes, both of them being out for the season.
ATHLETIC BILBAO vs. CD LEGANES MATCH PREDICTION
This seems to be a very one sided match, but that doesn’t mean it will be an easy ride for the home team. Leganes can be very strong on the back foot, so it will be important for Bilbao to be careful not to get caught on the counterattack.
However, with the kind of personnel and individual talents that are present on the Athletic Bilbao squad, I feel that it will be a home win. It will be a tough match, but my prediction will be a clean sheet and a low scoring game.
MY PICK: Under 2.5 goals (+110)
Additional Pick: Both teams to score NO (+120)
SD EIBAR vs. SPORTING GIJON
3-Way: 1: SD EIBAR +110; X: ++320 Draw; 2: SPORTING GIJON +270
Spread -0.5: SD EIBAR +100; SPORTING GIJON -106
Total +2.5: Over-149; Under +145
SD EIBAR
This Spanish La Liga campaign has been turning out to be a pretty good one for SD Eibar. Even though they cannot finish any higher than their current 8th position, it is still a decent finish for a mid table club. They have impressed fans and neutrals alike with their simple but effective play, and a nice blend of quick attacking, along with a strong defense. Now all that remains is for Eibar to relax and play their remaining games with full focus, so that they don’t fall down the order in the league table.
After 36 games, Eibar are stationed at the 8th position of the Spanish La Liga table. They have earned 54 points so far, with 33 of those coming at home. They are not really in the best of forms currently, with their home record over the last 6 games reading 3-1-2. Two weeks ago, they defeated Leganes in a well worked 1:0 win. Following that, was a disappointing defeat against Atletico Madrid by the score 1:0, where they have been left ruing their missed chances. Eibar has played quite a few draws this season. In fact, they have finished matches a 1:1 score line five times this season.
Eibar hasn’t been the best in attacking, but they surely have been impressive. They have scored a total of 54 goals in the Spanish La Liga, bettered by only 5 other teams. 29 of those goals have come in front of their home fans. Not only attack, but they have put in good defensive performances too, which is highlighted by the fact that they have managed to keep 10 clean sheets so far. They have conceded 46 goals in the league, with 20 of them at home.
Sergi Enrich has been the talisman for the team. He leads the team stats in both goals scored and goals created. He has scored 11 goals this season, and provided 6 assists for his teammates. Spanish wide man Pedro Leon has also been useful in attack. He has scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists till now in the league.
Los Armeros do have a few injury troubles. Fran Rico, Takashi Inui, Antonio Rodriguez, and Nano, all are out of the fixture, and will only return for the last fixture, or at the end of the season. Aribilla is suspended for the match, while Ander Capa is a doubt for the weekend.
SPORTING GIJON
It seems that Sporting Gijon’s stay in the Spanish la liga would not continue for the next season, as the club is currently lurking in the relegation spots. It is extremely crucial that they win their next two matches to have a shot at survival, which might not happen even after both the wins in the remaining games. They have struggled to match up with the intensity required to get points in the league, and it will be quite a miracle if they do manage to stay up in the division.
Sitting in the last relegation slot, at 18th, Gijon has only collected 27 points so far. 18 of those points have come at home. Even though they have put in good performances, most recently in their defeat to Real Madrid, which was sealed by a late Isco goal, they still can’t seem to get the positive results. A 1:0 win last weekend against Las Palmas surely would have lifted their hopes, and it remains to be seen whether they can build on it for the next two games or not. They haven’t won a single away game in their last 6 road trips (Drawn 3, lost 3). The most common result for Gijon has been a 2:1 defeat this season.
Be it attacking, or be it defense. Sporting Gijon has failed to make any of it effective. Their attack is ranked 15th in the Spanish La Liga, as they have scored only 39 goals, with 24 of them coming at home. at the same time, their defense has been shipping in goals in a flow. They have conceded 70 goals, less than only 2 other teams in the league. Such poor stats were all aiming towards the bottom end of the table, where they are currently situated.
Croatian forward Duje Cop has been the top scorer for the club this season, with 9 goals to his name. He has also created 3 goals for his teammates. Following him, is Carlos Carmona, who has scored 7 goals and assisted 1. Sporting only have only have a couple of doubts going into the match. Lillo Castellano (sprained ankle) and Borja Viguera (ankle injury) are the only players that aren’t sure to be there in the match day squad if the coach wants so.
SD EIBAR vs. SPORTING GIJON MATCH PREDICTION
It is an absolutely important match for Sporting Gijon, who have no option other than to win this game, as their survival hopes cling on this match. All these factors will surely be a motivating factor for Sporting, but considering the current form of both teams, I feel that Sporting will sadly lose this match and hence, be relegated.
Therefore my prediction will be an Eibar win in a high scoring match.
MY PICK: SD EIBAR (+110)
Additional Pick: Over 2.5 goals (-149)
