Deportivo vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Joel Amorim Sep 09, 2016 @ 02:15 am

Next Sunday, 11th September 2016, an Athletic Bilbao fishing for points will visit Galicia to measure forces with Deportivo de La Coruña at Riazor for Round 3 of La Liga Santander.

After a narrow 2-1 home win over SD Eibar in their first match of the new season (with a late goal by Arsenal’s recent signing Lucas Pérez from the penalty spot), Deportivo de La Coruña visited Benito Villamarín to held Real Betis to a goalless draw on the second round of the tournament. It might not have been the best of the matches for Gaizka Garitano’s men, but in the end they left Andalucia with one point in their bags and without conceding a single goal.

The match against Athletic Bilbao next Sunday will be particularly difficult for Depor, especially if we have in mind the 2-2 draw from last season.

Fernando Navarro and Bruno Gama have been struggling with injury problems recently and are doubts for the upcoming match against the Basque outfit.

As for Athletic Bilbao, they have started the new season off on the wrong foot losing their first two matches of the tournament. A 2-1 defeat and an overall poor performance at El Molinon against Sporting de Gijón woke up Bilbao’s players, who showed great dignity against Barcelona last time out. The Catalan team ended up winning the match by 1-0, but Athletic enjoyed from plenty of good chances to score, especially by Beñat, who tested ter Stegen’s attention on several occasions.

Next Sunday’s match at Riazor will certainly be complicated for the Basque outfit, but if they manage to replicate last round’s performance, they might be able to leave Galicia with at least one point in their bags.

Ager Aketxe and Aitor Seguin will miss their team’s visit to Galicia due to injury. On the other hand, experienced midfielder Mikel Riko is already back in training after a knee problem and is an option out there.

Deportivo de La Coruña

Stats: W-1 L-0 D-1

Recent Form - WD

Athletic Bilbao

Stats: W-0 L-2 D-0

Recent Form - LL

Possible Line-ups

Deportivo La Coruña (4-2-3-1) – Lux - Juanfran - Sidnei - Albentosa - Luisinho - Mosquera - Guilherme - Gil - Fajr - Colak - Andone

Athletic Bilbao (4-2-3-1) – Iraizoz - de Marcos - Boveda - Laporte - Balenziaga - Beñat - Iturraspe - Williams - Susaeta - Garcia - Aduriz

Injury List / Suspended Players

Deportivo de La Coruña - Bruno Gama (doubt) - Navarro (doubt)

Athletic Bilbao - Ager Aketxe (doubt) - Aitor Seguin (doubt)

Head-to-head matches:

League Positions