Will Bilbao strike again?
The Basques and the visitors from the east of the country finished last season level on points, securing Champions League spots as fourth and fifth, respectively. This season, their paths have diverged, and we have a prediction ready for the upcoming match between Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal!
While the visitors are seamlessly building on their strong previous season as third-place finishers, the home side from San Mames is struggling this season, sitting in eleventh place in the table. However, we expect the home “Lions” to be more motivated than the visitors.
For Villarreal, the season is largely over. With a 13-point lead over fifth place, qualification for the Champions League is all but secured. At the same time, the gap between Coach Ernesto Valverde’s team and the top two teams at the top of the table—Madrid and Barcelona—has already reached double digits, which is why any dreams of a ninth Spanish title in the club’s history are also in vain.
The home team, for its part, is still in a promising fight for spots in the Europa or Conference League, which is why we expect them to remain highly committed. Moreover, the Basques are counting on home-field advantage: 26 of their 38 points this season have been earned in front of their own fans. Given this situation, we’re predicting a home win in the match between Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal—with a draw as a backup.
Furthermore, we believe Georges Mikautadze will score for the visitors. During the recent international break, the striker netted a brace for his home country, Georgia, in a 2-0 win over Lithuania, and the former Lyon player is also currently performing reliably in LaLiga.
In four of the past nine league matches, Mikautadze has found the net for the 2021 Europa League winners, and together with Alberto Moleiro, he leads the club’s scoring charts.
Athletic Bilbao – Villarreal Head-to-Head Record
In their last head-to-head match, Villarreal won 1-0 at home in September of last year. It was also the fourth consecutive match between the two sides with fewer than 2.5 goals. However, the team from Plaza Labrador hasn’t had much success on the road against this opponent for quite some time.
They have been waiting for a win in their last six away games against the “Lehoiak,” and they lost the majority of those matches (4). For the upcoming match between Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal, the odds also slightly favor the 24-time Copa del Rey winners.
Athletic Bilbao – Villarreal Prediction
Both teams competed in the Champions League this season. However, they were both eliminated from the competition after the group stage. At least for the hosts, however, it is already more or less certain that they will repeat the success of participating in the competition.
In contrast, the “Zuri-Gorriak” still have to worry about securing another spot in international competition. Currently, sitting in eleventh place in the table, they would be left out of the running for this endeavor, but the gap to the international spots is small, which is why the Basques will continue to take the field with motivation.
Against the “Yellow Submarine,” the hosts can also count on home-field advantage. Their performances on their own turf are clearly better than on the road, and Coach Marcelino’s “Submarino Amarillo” has struggled away from home since the turn of the year.
The team from Estadio de la Cerámica has managed only two wins on the road in league play so far in 2026 (2-2-3). Furthermore, those two away victories came solely against Levante and Elche—both clubs currently battling relegation at the bottom of the table.
Against this backdrop, the betting odds for a home win (DNB) in the match between Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal look promising. This prediction is backed by the statistics: Villarreal hasn’t won in the Basque Country since 2018 and has lost four of their six away games!
