Copa Del Rey
2019-01-10 - Athletic Bilbao vs FC Sevilla
A Sports Betting Pick by Cruiser
Football: Copa del Rey
10th January 2019 – Kickoff 19:30 [Bilbao, Spain Time]
Introduction:
No doubt this is the biggest clash of the Copa del Rey in the last 16 as both La Liga teams go head to head with each other. Athletic Bilbao are playing very poorly this season and they are just above the relegation zone in La Liga.
On the other hand Sevilla are third in the standings and are behind leaders Barcelona by seven points. They are playing well in the Europa League and even led the standings in La Liga for a brief period of time.
Sevilla are unbeaten in their last seven matches now. Athletic has played four games without defeat and they will clash once again in La Liga in seven days time.
Athletic Bilbao
In Athletic Bilbao's last match in La Liga they beat Celta Vigo and have two points over the teams in the relegation zone now. That win was their third win overall in La Liga and the first time they won away from home.
That win enabled Athletic Bilbao to come out of the relegation zone as well. They have gone four games without defeat and they know they cannot relax in the second half of the championships now.
Despite playing two good matches in the Copa del Rey, it remains to be seen if Athletic Bilbao will want to prioritise the cup. In the last round of the Cup they defeated Huesca twice by 4-0. No doubt Sevilla will me a much difficult opponent now.
This will be the first of two encounters with Sevilla as their next match in La Liga will also be against Sevilla.
So do not be surrprise if they put their reserve team here as they will want to focus on the La Liga against Sevilla which is more important to them. They will be without the likes of M.Rico and Lekue who are out injured.
FC Sevilla
Sevilla have not been beaten for a long time with their last defeat coming in the Europa League. They finished the Europa League in top spot and are now in the knockout stage.
In Spain their last defeat was against FC Barcelona and they have been unbeaten in nine games since then. However they have drawn five times in that run as well.
Sevilla are currently third in La Liga and it would be a big ask to go higher as they are not able to go above Atletico Madrid or FC Barcelona above them.
In their last five round's they have played 1-1 draws four times and they only managed to beat FC Girona by 2-0 at home. After that they played a draw with Leganes.
They escaped the jaws of defeat as they scored late in the match, and in the last round they played a draw with Atletico Madrid at home. In that match, Mercado and Vazquez was not able to play as they were suspended. Other then that Gonalon and Vidala were absent as they were out injured.
As for the team news, other then Vidal and Gonalons everyone else are available for selection.
The Pick :
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 FC Sevilla
