La Liga: Bilbao Plan to Exploit Downtrodden Valencia

Valencia vs Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao are keen to return to winning ways when they visit Valencia at the Mestalla for their fifth La Liga match of the 2025-26 campaign. 

Ernesto Valverde’s men saw their winning streak snapped last Sunday by Alaves (1-0), which was followed by their opening loss in the Champions League against Arsenal last night (2-0). Before this, Athletic Bilbao won 3-2 against Sevilla, 1-0 against Rayo Vallecano, and 2-1 against Real Betis. Still, Los Leones are fifth in the Spanish top-flight standings with nine points, level with fourth-seeded Getafe.

In contrast, Valencia only have one win in their first four league matches. After a 1-1 draw on opening night against Real Sociedad, Los Che lost 1-0 to Osasuna, won 3-0 against Getafe, and lost 6-0 to Barcelona last Sunday evening.

With Valencia and Athletic Bilbao needing a win, SBOTOP football fans won’t expect less from these two sides. 

 

Talking Points

Valencia’s backline has been suspect

Valencia head coach Carlos Corberan recently apologised to the fans for the team’s horrendous display against Barcelona earlier this week. In the 6-0 loss, Los Che conceded braces from Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski, and were outshot 24-2, despite deploying a 5-3-2 formation.

Corberan’s aggregate score against Barcelona since taking over Valencia is now 1-18. After the game, he also admitted he was out of his depth against Hansi Flick. Los Che invested in their attack this summer with the additions of Arnaut Danjuma, Largie Ramazani, and Lucas Beltran, but failed to do so for their backline. The team notably sold centre-back Cristhian Mosquera to Arsenal for only £13 million, and the 21-year-old has been in the Gunners’ starting lineup following the untimely injury of William Saliba.

Veteran left-back Jose Gaya returned to the lineup after serving his suspension, which is great news for Valencia. The team will need steadier performances from Cesar Tarrega, Mouctar Diakhaby, and loanee Julen Agirrezabala, who will get the chance to show Athletic Bilbao what they’re missing this Saturday evening.

 

Athletic Bilbao badly miss Williams

Athletic Bilbao will continue to miss the services of star winger Nico Williams, who is dealing with an adductor issue. Since his last appearance against Real Betis, Los Leones’ attack hasn’t been the same.

Williams picked up the injury while playing for Spain during their World Cup qualifier against Turkey.

Since then, Alex Berenguer has taken Williams’ vacated spot on the wings, and Gorka Guruzeta took the No. 9 spot. It didn’t work against Alaves, so head coach Ernesto Valverde went with Robert Navarro (instead of Guruzeta) against Arsenal, but to no avail. Valverde might also consider playing Maroan Sannadi to mix it up.

Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao fans are probably hyped about the impending return of Aymeric Laporte, who most recently played for Al-Nassr from 2023 to 2025. The 31-year-old centre-back pushed for his Basque return this summer, and he got his wish after a delay on Al-Nassr’s part. He could play his first game back this Saturday.

 

History

Athletic Bilbao completed a league double over Valencia last season, both via 1-0 scores. Valencia have not lost at least three consecutive league games against Athletic Bilbao since 2016, and have not gone at least three matches without scoring against them since 1979 (D1, L2).

Los Leones also won three of their last six La Liga matches against Los Che at the Mestalla (D2, L1), one more victory than in their previous 31 visits (W2, D9, L20). They could achieve back-to-back away wins against Valencia for the third time in La Liga history this weekend, which would be their first since a run of two wins between 1986 and 1988 (both 2-1).

 

Betting Tip

The La Liga 2025 odds surprisingly predict a close fight between Valencia and Athletic Bilbao this weekend, despite their gap in the Spanish top-flight standings. Athletic Bilbao have the slight advantage at 2.56, while Valencia are right behind them at 2.72, and a draw is at 2.91 in the 1X2 market.

This match could go either way, especially since their recent meetings have been low-scoring. However, the visitors should have enough to see this through. Besides our recommended bet, we don’t expect many La Liga 2025 highlights from this fixture, making alternatives like Under 2.50 at 1.60, Under 2.25 at 1.80, Under 2.00 at 2.11, and even Total Goals 0-1 at 2.48 worth considering. Furthermore, a Correct Score of 1-0 in favour of Los Leones – the result of their last two league meetings – is on offer at 6.40.

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.