Sevilla will be looking to keep pace with Real Madrid in the La Liga title race when they come up against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames Barria on Saturday.
Sevilla find themselves second in the table – eight points behind first-place Real Madrid and one point ahead of third-place Real Betis.
▶️ First session before #AthleticSevillaFC ⚪️🔴#WeareSevilla #NeverSurrenderpic.twitter.com/7KEOzGtwS7— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) December 9, 2021
▶️ First session before #AthleticSevillaFC ⚪️🔴#WeareSevilla #NeverSurrenderpic.twitter.com/7KEOzGtwS7
Meanwhile, Athletic sit eighth – ten points behind Sevilla – having failed to win any of their previous seven league matches.
Although Athletic head into Saturday’s clash on a seven-game winless streak, they have managed to draw five of their last seven outings.
In fact, they have registered a league-high nine draws this season – picking up four wins and three losses along the way.
Only three clubs – Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid – have recorded fewer La Liga losses than Athletic this season.
On a brighter note, Athletic have lost just three of their past 17 home games in La Liga. For that reason, they will fancy their chances of frustrating high-flying Sevilla.
As for Sevilla, they have lost only two of their 15 league encounters this term – claiming nine wins and four draws in the process.
It is also worth noting that Sevilla boast the joint-best defensive record in the Spanish top flight, having conceded just 11 goals this season.
Sevilla come into Saturday’s showdown on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League.
Despite enjoying 67% of the ball on Wednesday, they managed to register just a single attempt on target in Austria.
Head-to-head: Not only have Sevilla won just one of their last 11 away games against Athletic, but they have also failed to keep a clean sheet on each of their past 13 visits to San Mames.
That said, Sevilla have avoided defeat in three of their last five meetings with Athletic – picking up two wins and a draw in that time.
Team news: Athletic will be without the injured trio of Yuri Berchiche, Dani Vivian and Asier Villalibre on Saturday.
On the flip side, Sevilla currently have four players sidelined through injury – Youssef En-Nesyri, Jesus Navas, Erik Lamela and Suso.
Although Athletic’s recent record against Sevilla is good – especially on home soil – Sevilla are enjoying a far better season than Athletic.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Sevilla will edge out Athletic on Saturday – netting over 1.5 goals on their way to victory.