Match Preview

The home side will be feeling confident and fresh after their winter break, ahead of our Spartak Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao preview and soccer odds, especially as Kuko Ziganda’s visitors come into the game on an indifferent run of form at present.

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Spartak Moscow have gone unbeaten in competitive action at home since August of last year, with their form in both their league, cup and Champions League outings suggesting that they can do some damage since dropping into this version of the European tournament.

Our Spartak Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao predictions back the hosts to come away with an important advantage in the first leg, with Los Leones struggling to find the feet and identity in recent months since the departure of Ernesto Valverde as coach. Our Europa League tips point towards the Russian outfit having the best of this clash.

While Athletic Bilbao may have gone on a reasonable unbeaten run of late, their brand of football is uninspiring and they often set up to avoid defeat rather than trying to take the victor. An experiment with three central defenders didn’t work recently and Los Leones look rather lost.

Spartak Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction and Betting Advice

Spartak come into this game with a fantastic home record so far this season. They last fell to a defeat at the Otkrytiye Arena back in August, and they will be refreshed and ready to kick on again after having a winter break and a few friendlies to warm themselves up again for competitive action.

William Hill offers the best odds on the home side to take the victory and an advantage into the second leg, as their form at home in the Champions League was excellent. Draws against Liverpool and Maribor, as well as a 5-1 thrashing of La Liga club Sevilla proved that this side deserves to be involved in European competition and that should be of grave concern to the travelling Basques.

Athletic are winless in their last three consecutive away games, with Ziganda finding a way to frustrate other teams but not necessarily beat them. Given that Quincy Promes and Luiz Adriano have been looking sharp in recent months against Spanish opposition, Spartak will be confident that they can do some damage ahead of their trip to Bilbao.

Our Spartak Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao bets back the away side to be able to potentially do some damage on the counter-attack, with the pace of Inaki Williams sure to be something that the home side may struggle to deal with if he gets in behind their back four. The hosts conceded in all three of their Champions League group games at home, and their frailties are there to be exploited.

10Bet offers the best value on both teams hitting the back of the net in Moscow, with Athletic having scored in all but one of their last nine away fixtures in all competitions. While not being the prettiest to watch, the visitors are effective and can rely on the likes of Raul Garcia and Aritz Aduriz to be a real threat in the air when Los Leones play direct.

Our Spartak Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao betting tips suggest that the Basque club should be prepared to sit in for a difficult task in Russia, with their long journey sure to have an effect on proceedings too. Los Leones will likely be able to stay in the equation for the return clash but should cede the higher ground on Thursday.