Crucial action takes place in Spain on Thursday, as the second leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-final between Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid is staged. Both sides still have an opportunity to reach the final, but the advantage at this stage is with Bilbao following their 1-0 win in the opening leg at the beginning of February.
There’s everything still to play for in this semi-final second leg in the Copa del Rey, as Bilbao only hold a slender advantage following the first meeting between the sides at the start of February. Bilbao were excellent in the Spanish capital in the first meeting between these sides, and they were deserving winners following Alejandro Remiro’s winner from the penalty spot after just 25 minutes.
Atletico may feel as though that was a golden opportunity to take an advantage into this second leg, and that is hard to argue against given that they had home field advantage for that showdown. However, the Spanish side were incredibly wasteful in front of goal throughout that fixture after recording just five shots on target despite registering 20 shots. They will need to be more emphatic in front of goal in this second leg.
However, their league form has been patchy in recent weeks, as they have recorded just one win in their last four. They have also suffered three defeats in their last five across all competitions. Atletico were last in action over the weekend after playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw against Almeria away from home.
Bilbao have enjoyed a fine campaign in La Liga this term, but questions are beginning to be asked after they have won just twice across their last five. They missed a golden opportunity to move into the Champions League spots over the weekend after falling to a 3-1 defeat on the road against Real Betis. But, there would be little surprise to see a response this week.
Bilbao have recorded victories against Atletico in both matches between these sides across all competitions this term. Their first league win this season ended a three-game winning sequence in this fixture for Atletico. Bilbao have recorded wins in two of their last three home matches between these sides, while the only draw in the last nine came in September 2021.
Nico Williams will serve a one-man ban for this important second leg in the Copa Del Rey. Meanwhile, the home team will be without Inigo Lekue and Ander Herrera, who are both expected to return in late March. Antoine Griezmann is the big miss for Atletico this week, as he will be out due to an ankle injury. Jose Gimenez, Thomas Lemar, and Machin Perez are also missing.
Bilbao have been leaky defensively in recent weeks after conceding in each of their last two matches. Therefore, both teams to score could be an interesting selection, with Atletico having kept one clean sheet in their last six matches across all competitions.
The recent meetings does show the trend of this being a low-scoring affair, with under 2.5 goals having been scored in each of the last five matches.
The first leg advantage for Bilbao could yet prove crucial for this second leg, as historic trends show that the fixtures between these rivals have been low scoring affairs. Therefore, we could see under 2.5 goals being scored, with Bilbao progressing through to the next round of the competition.
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