Copa del Rey and La Liga: Bilbao will win Basque battle and lift cup

Copa del Rey and La Liga Tips: Bilbao will win Basque battle and lift cup

It's last season's Copa del Rey final this weekend - yes, you read that right - and Dan Fitch is tipping a Athletic Bilbao win, while also previewing two games from the La Liga title race.

Slim win for Real

Real Madrid 1.35 v Eibar 11.0; The Draw 6.0
Saturday 3 April, 15:15
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Real Madrid can put the pressure on their title rivals when they host Eibar on Saturday afternoon.

With the La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid not in action till Sunday, Real can move to within three points of their local rivals if they beat Eibar. They can also move a point ahead of second placed Barcelona, who do no play until Monday night.

If that is an advantage that Real Madrid hold going into this weekend's fixtures, a disadvantage is they are still in the Champions League. With the home leg of their quarter-final against Liverpool taking place on Tuesday, before El Clasico next weekend, Zinedine Zidane may opt to rest players against Eibar.

With Eibar 18th in La Liga and without a win from their last 12 outings, it could be a gamble worth taking for Zidane. Eibar tend to keep it tight, with only two of those last 12 games seeing four goals or more, so back a Real Madrid win and under 3.5 goals at 2.12.

Bilbao will win cup again

Athletic Bilbao 2.96 v Real Sociedad 2.68; The Draw 3.2
Saturday 3 April, 20:30
Copa del Rey Final

This is the final of the 2019-20 Copa del Rey. As the first ever Basque derby final, both clubs decided to postpone the match last season, in the hope that fans could attend.

Unfortunately the game will be played behind closed doors in Seville. It could be held off no longer, with this season's final between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona taking place in two weeks. It's a bizarre situation for Bilbao to be in, with a league game against Sociedad to follow next week.

Real Sociedad are currently fifth in La Liga, but are not in great form, losing their last two games before the international break, including a 6-1 home thrashing by Barcelona. Bilbao have only lost twice in their last 17 games (W8 D7) and their cup pedigree cannot be disputed. With 23 wins, only Barcelona have won the Copa del Rey more often and Bilbao have also lifted the Super Cup this season.

Though the odds are very tight and Sociedad have the more talented squad, it's perhaps Bilbao who should be slight favourites, with their style proving to be so successful in cup football over the past year. Back Bilbao to lift the cup at 2.12.

Pressure on Atletico

Sevilla 3.0 v Atletico Madrid 2.76; The Draw 3.2
Sunday 4 April, 20:00
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Of the three teams fighting for the title, it's the leaders Atletico Madrid that have the toughest fixture this weekend, as they travel to fourth placed Sevilla.

In the last round of fixtures, the top three all held their nerve and won, but Atletico came closest to dropping points. Facing Alaves at home, Atletico took the lead early in the second-half through Luis Suarez, but conceded an 84th minute penalty, which was saved by Jan Oblak to ensure a 1-0 victory.

It was a vital win at a time when Atletico have been drawing far too many games, with four of their last nine La Liga outings ending in a stalemate (W4 D1). The good news for Atletico is that Sevilla's form has not been any better. Having previously put themselves in a position where they had an outside chance of winning the title, Sevilla have only won two of their last five games (D1 L2) and they are now eleven points behind Atletico, with ten games remaining.

With the odds very close and Atletico's tendency to draw of late, backing this match to finish level at 3.2 could be where the value is.