Sevilla vs Athletic Bilbao 17/01/19

17 January 2019

It will be the third time in less than seven days Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao face-off, as the Andalusians host the Basque side to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in the return leg of the Copa del Rey last-16 tie.

The hosts are considerable favorites to advance to the next stage considering they secured a 3-1 road win in last week’s first-leg clash.

However, Athletic Bilbao were the ones to pick up all three points in weekend’s encounter that took place at the same venue as they now hope to break Sevilla’s two-game home winning run in H2H meetings.

It will be a daunting prospect for Athletic Bilbao to beat Sevilla in Andalusia, as Los Hispalenses lost just one of their 16 home clashes in all competitions this season (W13, D2, L1). A 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid last time out has brought Sevilla’s ten-game home winning streak to an end, and it was also the first time Los Nervionenses have conceded a goal at home after four successive clean sheets. Pablo Machin’s men have allowed over 1.5 goals per match at home only this season, establishing as one of the best defensive sides in the Spanish top flight. However, their struggling in the final third has seen Sevilla scoring over 1.5 goals per match just three times in their last 11 competitive races, failing to hit the net only once though.

The visitors are unbeaten in their previous three road clashes in all competitions (W2, D1) as they now go after back-to-back away wins for the first time this season. Although unbeaten on seven of ten road trips so far, Los Leones have played out five draws, with three of them ending with the identical 1-1 scoreline. The Rojiblancos’ problems in attack have seen the score one goal or less four times in their last six competitive games. A 50% of Athletic Bilbao’s road clashes have produced over 2.5 goals, while 60% of their ten away games ended with both teams hitting the net.