LA LIGA MONDAY: Our football tipster The Ultra previews Monday’s match between ATHLETIC BILBAO v ESPANYOL including a recommended BETDAQ bet.
8pm We only have one game from Europe to enjoy for Monday night football on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! , but it’s a very interesting game from a betting point of view as Athletic Bilbao host Espanyol. While most clubs had a good winter break, some countries opted to have some Cup fixtures last week and Athletic Bilbao had to play their Copa del Rey Quarter Final against Real Madrid on Thursday.
They will be buzzing after that fixture however as they managed to knock Real Madrid out with a 89th minute winner. I have to say although Athletic Bilbao are your classic mid-table La Liga side, they are incredible in the Cup over the last few years! They are one step away from their third final in a row, and realistically they won’t fear Real Betis, Valencia or Rayo Vallecano. After losing two finals within two weeks last season, it would be nice to see them win it to be honest.
Espanyol have been in the TV slots for a while now leading up to the winter break, and they find themselves in another TV slot here! As I have said countless times this season, they are a very up-and-down side who are quite unpredictable; maybe that’s why they get picked for the TV games! They can be very average and brilliant, you’ll see xG figures like 0.36 and 2.39 when you look through their recent fixtures. Lately they have been average more than brilliant though, and Bilbao will see this has a good opportunity to follow up on their big Copa del Rey win.
Although both sides are in mid-table and will likely achieve nothing of note in the league this season, Bilbao aren’t a million miles away from a Europa League spot when you look at the table. They’ll have to finish the season very strongly, and to be honest they’ll probably focus on the Cup now anyway, but they are within range. I’m not a huge fan of Espanyol, especially away from home as they tend to struggle and I’m happy to back Bilbao here at 1.63. Espanyol have only managed seven points from 11 away games this season, and most of their low xG figures have come away from home.
Espanyol also concede plenty of chances, they’ve conceded an average of 1.55 away goals per game this season while Bilbao have been very comfortable at home. They have actually been a little unlucky – their actual is 1.3 but their xG is 1.78 goals per game at home. Everything points to a Bilbao win here and the 1.63 is big enough to back in my view.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Athletic Bilbao to beat Espanyol at 1.63 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange!
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQBilEsp
