Joralexray Garcia
The Copa del Rey action continues, and we are getting closer and closer to the best part of the competition. This Thursday, January 26, one of the quarterfinals will offer us this amazing clash between Valencia vs Athletic Bilbao.
Without further ado, JefeBet brings you the best preview for this stellar duel between Valencia vs Athletic Bilbao. Stay with us to have access to our predictions and the available betting odds for this match.
Predictions, Odds, and Betting Preview for the Valencia vs Athletic Bilbao Copa del Rey Quarter-Final Match on January 26, 2023
- Where: Mestalla Stadium, Valencia, Spain.
- When: Thursday, January 26, 2023, 2:00 PM E.T.
- BetMGM Moneyline: Valencia (+173) / Tie (+222) / Athletic Club (+167)
- BetMGM Asian Handicap: Valencia (AH 0, -104) / Athletic Club (AH 0 -109 )
- BetMGM’s Over/Under (2.5): Over (+133), Under (-154)
- Both teams score: Yes (-105) / No (-123).
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Valencia Preview
We are only in the first month of the calendar year, but it has been a busy 2023 for Valencia, who played in the Spanish Super Cup two weeks ago (losing on penalties to Real Madrid), and sealed their place in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey with a strong 4-0 win over Sporting Gijón last week.
However, La Liga action has not gone well for the Ché side, who extended their winless streak in the domestic competition to three with a disappointing draw at home to Almería, even though they were ahead on two occasions. That draw is also part of Valencia’s stretch of just one win in their previous six home games.
The team coached by Gennaro Gattuso will try to forget those setbacks against Athletic Club, whom they already beat in the semifinals of last year’s edition of the Copa del Rey, defeating them 1-0 here after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Probable lineup (4-4-2): Giorgi Mamardashvili, Dimitri Foulquier, Gabriel Paulista, Mouctar Diakhaby, José Gaya, Yunus Musah, Hugo Guillamon, André Almeida, Justin Kluivert, Samuel Lino, Edison Cavani.
Athletic Club Preview
Despite a 0-2 home loss against Real Madrid, Athletic Club fans should be happy with their team’s performance in La Liga over the past weekend. They are only two points away from the places that give access to European competitions and will now have the opportunity to reach the semifinals of the Copa del Rey for the second consecutive year.
The Basque side is the second-highest winner of the Copa del Rey with 23 trophies; however, they are still trying to break a long streak that has seen them unable to lift the cup in almost 40 years. Beating Espanyol 1-0 at home was a big step towards breaking that jinx, but now they will have to visit a venue where they have only won twice since 2014, drawing three games and losing five in the process.
Perhaps having lost only three of their 11 away games this campaign will give Los Leones a little more confidence that they can pull off an upset here, especially considering that three of their five away wins have come in this tournament.
Probable lineup (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon, Oscar De Marcos, Yeray Alvarez, Daniel Vivian, Yuri Berchiche, Dani Garcia, Mikel Vesga, Iñaki Williams, Ohian Sancet, Nico Williams, Gorka Guruzeta.
JefeBet Prediction
Despite scoring two goals in their previous outing, Valencia have not been known for being a very productive attacking team this campaign, scoring just 25 goals in 17 La Liga games, the same number as today’s opponents Athletic Club, who has also scored more than one goal in only one of his last seven official appearances.
Matches between these teams are always entertaining, but there is also a lot of physical play in between, something that has set a clear trend, with only three of their last 15 meetings between the two sides scoring more than two goals. So, with so much at stake here, we expect both sides to be cautious and leave a low-scoring affair.
Prediction: Under (VAL 1 – 0 ATH).
