Sevilla vs Athletic Bilbao – Preview, H2H, Line-ups, Prediction | La Liga 2021-22

Ivan Rakitic-Sevilla

Sevilla will look to secure a top three La Liga finish when they welcome Athletic Bilbao to Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

Venue: Estádio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán (Sevilla) 

Key Statistics

Sevilla have won just one of their last five home games in the league (three draws and one loss).

They have lost a joint-league low one home game ahead of the final day (W11, D6), three fewer than they lost last term. 

The hosts have avoided defeat in eight of their ten league games when conceding first (W1, D7, L2).

Athletic Bilbao have one win across the last seven away trips (one draw and five losses).

The visitors have scored 14 goals away from home this season. Only Getafe (11) and Rayo Vallecano (13) have scored fewer goals away from home this season.

Head to head

In 14 meetings between both sides, Athletic Bilbao have the upper hand, having won on seven occasions while Sevilla have six wins.

Latest performances in all competitions

Sevilla: D-D-D-D-W

Athletic Bilbao: W-L-D-W-W

Sevilla

Sevilla will look to get their first win in five games when they host Athletic Bilbao this Sunday in the La Liga season finale.

The host’s quest for a top-four finish could have been taken to the last game of the season but for Real Betis’ draw with Real Madrid last Friday. The result leaves Sevilla two points ahead of Betis, ahead of the final game of the season.

And so, this game counts for little in Sevilla’s eyes, but a win here could still guarantee them a top-six finish should Atletico Madrid drop points in their game.

Despite manager Julen Lopetegui’s future being in the spotlight this week, the Spaniard will look to build on his strong personal record against Athletic Bilbao (W4, D2, L2) to end the campaign. 

Possible Sevilla starting line-up

Marko Dmitrovic; Jesus Navas, Diego Carlos, Jules Kounde, Marcos Acuna; Ivan Rakitić, Joan Jordan, Thomas Delaney; Alejandro Gomez, Lucas Ocampos, Youssef En-Nesyri.

Injured: Fernando, Suso

Doubtful: None 

Suspended: Nemanja Gudelj

Athletic Bilbao 

After beating Osasuna 2-0 last time out, Athletic Bilbao come into this final game of the season with a chance of finishing in the top seven places.

The visitors looked to be in danger of flopping to a stale finish as they did when finishing tenth last term. But, they halted a run of two games without a win with a home win over Osasuna last time, giving them the chance of piping Villareal to the UEFA Europa Conference League spot.

But their chances of doing so will depend on results here and the result in Camp Nou where Villarreal will face Barcelona. Should the Basque club win and the Yellow Submarines drop points against Barca, they will be playing in Europe next season.

But their away form going into this game does not inspire much confidence ahead of this game. The hosts have lost five of their last seven away games, winning just once. However, three unbeaten games across Athletic’s last four away H2Hs at Sevilla (W2, D1) give them some level of confidence.

Possible Athletic Bilbao starting line-up

Unai Simon; Oscar de Marcos, Yeray Alvarez, Inigo Martinez, Yuri Berchiche; Alex Berenguer, Iker Mûnein, Dani Garcia, Mikel Vesga; Inaki Williams, Asier Villalibre.

Injured: Raul Garcia, Nico Williams

Doubtful: Oihan Sancet

Suspended: None 

Prediction

Sevilla 1-1 Athletic Bilbao