Sabasports Match Preview
LaLiga: Athletic Club vs Getafe
Kickoff Time: 2024-08-16 01:00 (HKT)
Source: REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff
Last season, Athletic Club’s performance was impressive as they finished fifth in the league. Head coach Ernesto Valverde successfully led Athletic Bilbao back to European competition. Athletic Club is adept at utilizing fast counterattacks and the speed advantage on the wings to break through the opponent’s defense. Nico Williams plays a key role in their counterattacks. In addition, Athletic Club excels at creating threats through crossing from the wings and headers, which gives them diverse scoring methods in the attack. Defensively, Athletic Bilbao emphasizes teamwork and tight defense, using physicality and even fouls to limit the opponent’s offense. It’s worth mentioning that Athletic Bilbao also boasts a proud home record. In the previous season, they achieved an excellent record of 12 wins, six draws, and one loss in 19 home games, showing their formidable home advantage.
Getafe finished in 10th place last season, which is quite a good result considering their limited strength. When it comes to Getafe, many fans may have deep grievances. Getafe’s frequent fouls and frequent disruptions of the game rhythm are despised by opponents and their fans alike. When facing stronger opponents, Getafe employs a tactic of frequent fouls away from the box, which often makes it difficult for the opponents to cope with. Getafe’s tactical superiority lies in the fact that regardless of the opponent’s ball possession, as long as the tactics are fully implemented, the opponent’s ball possession becomes meaningless. Although this style of play is overly aggressive, its high practicality and guarantee of results cannot be denied. However, playing away from home is a major weakness for Getafe. In 19 away games last season, Getafe only achieved two wins, eight draws, and nine losses, with a mere 10% away win rate. Their away performance can be described as very weak.
Comparing the overall strength of the two teams, Athletic Club is clearly stronger than Getafe. Additionally, Athletic Club has a strong home performance while Getafe struggles in away matches. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect Athletic Club, with their outstanding strength, to start the league with a win.
Athletic Club’s Last 5 Games: LLWWL
24-08-10 VfB Stuttgart 4-0 Athletic Club
24-08-08 Aston Villa 3-2 Athletic Club
24-08-04 Athletic Club 2-1 Osasuna
24-08-02 Athletic Club 1-0 Eibar
24-07-28 Sporting CP 3-0 Athletic Club
Getafe’s Last 5 Games: DWLLL
24-08-10 Southampton 0-0 Getafe
24-08-08 Getafe 1-0 Saint-Etienne
24-08-04 Getafe 1-3 Atletico Madrid
24-08-01 Getafe 0-1 Real Zaragoza
24-07-25 Getafe 0-1 Real Oviedo
Head To Head Record:
24-05-04 Getafe 0-2 Athletic Club
23-09-28 Athletic Club 2-2 Getafe
23-04-01 Athletic Club 0-0 Getafe
22-10-19 Getafe 2-2 Athletic Club
22-03-19 Athletic Club 1-1 Getafe
Prediction: Athletic Club to win