Valencia and Athletic Bilbao fight for a ticket to the Cup semis

In the quarter-finals of the Spanish Copa del Rey , FC Valencia and Athletic Bilbao meet at eye level if you believe the betting odds. On this page you will find a comprehensive match analysis and prediction, where we point you to the most promising betting opportunities. This is a repeat of last season's semifinals in which Valencia narrowly prevailed. An overtime is not unlikely in a low-scoring game as 5 of the last 10 direct H2H comparisons ended in a draw. 

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Valencia analysis

Valencia is 8 times Spanish Cup winner, the last triumph was 4 years ago. Last year, the eastern Spaniards were in the final of the Copa del Rey. In the past 6 years they have reached at least the quarterfinals 5 times - including this season. In the first two rounds, Valencia managed to keep clean sheets and scored at least 3 goals: against La Nucía from the 3rd division and Sporting Gijon from the 2nd division. The bats have been unbeaten in 10 cup games . The last defeat in this competition was exactly 2 years ago against Sevilla. Last season's final was lost to Betis on penalties.

Valencia are not experiencing easy weeks at the moment. After the restart after the World Cup break at the end of December, Los Che lost the first two league games, but prevailed in both cup rounds. Meanwhile, Gennaro Gattuso's side forced Real Madrid to go on penalties in the semi-finals of the Supercopa , which they lost. The east Spaniards are now looking to extend their 10-game unbeaten streak (in regular time) against Bilbao. 

Valencia remained unbeaten in the last 3 competitive games after 90 minutes with 2 draws. However, the bats remained without a win in the last two home games (1 D, 1 L) with the 0:1 against Cadiz and the 2:2 against Almeria. These two matches at home took place as part of La Liga. In the domestic championship, the East Spaniards are currently in 12th place, 8 points behind the international starting places, but only 3 points above the relegation ranks - see: Primera Division predictions.

So Valencia have to look down and will hardly qualify for the European Cup via the league. The only thing left for the Bats is the trophy for international business. The eastern Spaniards are the biggest underdog of the remaining participants in the Spanish cup.

Athletic Bilbao analysis

Bilbao are in the last 8 of the Copa del Rey for the 4th time in a row and want to reach the semifinals for the 3rd time in a row . The Basques have won the Spanish Cup 23 times and are number 2 in the all-time ranking. But the last triumph was 39 years ago. Since then Atheltico have been in the final 6 times, most recently in 2020 and 2021. The Basques have already had to survive 4 rounds this season and have won all 4 games in regular time, beating Espanyol 1-0 in the round of 16 . Bilbao only conceded 1 goal in their first 4 cup games. With a betting odds of around 9.00, the Basques are also among the underdogs when it comes to winning the cup.

Athletic Bilbao have won exactly half of their previous games under Ernesto Valverde – 11 out of 22, with 5 draws and 6 defeats. In the last 4 competitive games, however, only 1 was a complete success - in the cup round of 16 against Espanyol. In the past 10 matches, the lions have had 5 wins with 2 draws and 3 defeats. The Basques are 8th in the championship, 6 points ahead of Valencia and just 2 points behind the international grid.

So Bilbao still has chances to qualify for Europe in both competitions. In the last 5 away games in all competitions, Athletic have only lost once in 3 successes – most recently 1:3 in the Basque derby in San Sebastian at Real Sociedad. In 8 guest appearances in La Liga, the red and white only won 2 with 3 draws and 3 defeats each. They scored 13 goals with just as many goals conceded.

Ernesto Valverde's side have kept clean sheets in 3 of their last 5 away games but have conceded 4 goals in their last two. Both teams have not scored in 4 of the last 7 away games, but Bilbao have conceded over 1.5 goals in 4 of their last 8 away appearances. In the last 11 league games, the Basques could only lead once at half time, in the last 6 matches they only went once in the second 45 minutes.

Valencia - Athletic Bilbao: What to expect? 

In the last 10 direct duels, Valencia has won 3 times and Bilbao twice. There was a draw 5 times. In the last 7 meetings, the guests could not win - with 2 home wins and 5 draws. Bilbao remained undefeated in the last two H2H comparisons (1 W, 1 D).

However, the Basques have only managed to win once in the last 8 guest appearances in Valencia and remained without a win in the last 3 away duels (2 D, 1 L). 

This cup match can easily go into overtime, which is why we advise you to bet on a draw X if you can take the risk. A 0-0 and a 1-1 correct score also seem as interesting bets. By the way, there were such results in 4 of the last 6 H2H comparisons.

• Under 2.5 
• X (risk)
• Correct score 0-0 and/or 1-1 (risk)

* All odds and markets are correct at time of publication and subject to change.