Athletic Bilbao v Almeria

Athletic Bilbao vs Almeria Preview

Athletic Bilbao will not only be keen to return to their San Mamés Barria ground for this Friday night's clash with Almeria but the hosts will also be eager to return to winning ways in the Spanish top flight following defeat away from home at Real Sociedad last weekend, while Almeria will want to build upon the point they earned last time out as well.

Following an opening day 2-0 defeat at home to Real Madrid at the start of this season's La Liga campaign, Athletic Bilbao had staged a recovery by putting together a solid six-match unbeaten run in the domestic top flight which has placed Athletic Bilbao into early contention for a possible European spot next season.

Real Sociedad are another side that are vying for a possible top six finish in this season's La Liga final standings and it was they who inflicted a heavy 3-0 loss upon Athletic Bilbao last weekend.

However, Athletic Bilbao have put together a promising three-match unbeaten run on home soil at their San Mamés Barria in La Liga which includes wins against Real Betis and Cadiz and these recent victories should still serve as a boost for Ernesto Valverde's side on Friday night.

Almeria picked up a point in last weekend's Spanish top flight action as they drew 3-3 at home with Granada but despite that point, Almeria still find themselves firmly rooted at the bottom of the Spanish top flight table ahead of this tough looking trip to take on Athletic Bilbao on Friday night.

After their opening eight games of this new season, Almeria have only managed to muster a total of three points from the possible 24 on offer to date, which have come in the form of draws with Cadiz, Valencia and the aforementioned Granada, but five defeats to date this term have well and truly overshadowed Almeria's modest successes.

Defeats to Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid, Celta Vigo, Villarreal and Sevilla, the latter being a particularly heavy 5-1 defeat underlines the problems that Almeria have experienced so far in this new La Liga campaign.

The bigger picture shows Almeria have now failed to win any of their last 11 matches in the Spanish top flight and the visitors have managed to keep just one clean sheet during this miserable sequence of results as well.

Athletic Bilbao v Almeria Verdict

Despite being dealt a heavy 3-0 defeat away at Real Sociedad last weekend, Athletic Bilbao will still fancy their chances of responding in positive fashion on Friday night when they return to their San Mamés Barria ground for this clash with Almeria, especially as the hosts have won each of the last four meetings on the trot against Almeria, two of which were with clean sheets.

Therefore, our main bet will be Both Teams To Score No @ 1.95

Other side bets worth considering:

Athletic Bilbao win & Both Teams To Score No @ 2.50

Correct score: Athletic Bilbao 2-0 @ 7.50