Ath Bilbao vs Getafe Prediction: 15/8/2024

The new La Liga season kicks off for Athletic Bilbao, a team that narrowly missed Champions League qualification last season due to a late defeat to Atlético Madrid. This year, Bilbao will compete in the Europa League after securing 5th place in La Liga and winning the Copa del Rey.

However, their pre-season has started on a sour note with a 2-1 loss to second-division team Burgos. On the other hand, Getafe, who were expected to struggle last season, ended up finishing a respectable 12th under the contributions of Mayoral and Greenwood.

Looking ahead, Getafe aims to secure a spot in the top half of the table, although they tend to lose key players frequently. Similar to Bilbao, Getafe also engaged in several pre-season matches, starting with a goalless draw against England’s Coventry.

A major talking point this summer is Nico Williams, who has attracted interest from big clubs like Barcelona and PSG after a standout performance at the Euros with Spain. Despite these rumors, he remains at Bilbao.

Meanwhile, Bilbao faces challenges with key players absent; goalkeeper Unai Simon is out for several months due to wrist surgery, and his backup Agirrezabala is sidelined with a vertebrae fracture. The club also saw the departure of several players including Iker Muniain who retired, Imanol Garcia who moved to Sparta Prague, and Alex Berenguer who did not renew his contract.

Getafe has seen notable departures as well, including striker Mayoral who returned to fitness in pre-season, Jaime Mata who moved to Las Palmas, and Maksimovic who joined Panathinaikos.

Despite these changes, Getafe made some additions, including Peter Federico from Real Madrid and a young goalkeeper, Letacek, from Ostrava, though David Soria remains their first-choice goalkeeper.

 

Prediction

Looking at the recent trends, Athletic Bilbao has had a fairly consistent record of low-scoring away games, with 15 out of 21 matches featuring two or fewer goals. Getafe’s home games also tend to lack excitement, with nine of their last 12 home matches producing under 2.5 goals.

Prediction: Athletic Bilbao 1, Getafe 0