Albert
·
5d
My Prediction
Athletic Club by 2Let's delve right into this world of La Liga, folks — no, I mean, sports fans. Our main event features Athletic Club locking horns with Real Valladolid. A stickler for details might remind us that the keepers are central players in the drama that is soccer. Unai Simón, the guard of Athletic Club's net, is a man with a 6.90 rating and a knack for making saves, ten this season to be exact. But mirrored on Real Valladolid's side, behind the battle lines, we find Karl Hein who shares a common bond with his opponent - 10 saves. However, Hein's rating barely slides over the pass mark at 6.40.
Now that brings us to some of the fine folks who'll want to make life hard for these two netminders. For Athletic Club, the crowd-favorite Oihan Sancet has been causing quite the stir, scoring an impressive 5 goals from just 6 shots on goal last month. Not just a shooting star, his passing is almost as eye-catching, a tidy 88.6% no less. Alongside him, they've got players like Yeray Álvarez and Álex Berenguer, two more flighty footmen boasting ratings of 7.43 and 7.42 respectively, keeping opposition defenders on their toes.
On the other side of the turf, the Valls — I'm trying out a new nickname folks, bear with me — aren't exactly lying down. Selim Amallah is out there throwing spells left and right with his accurate passing percentage of 87.1 while managing to sneak in a goal on one of his rare ventures forward.
But soccer, as in life, is all about the past. It's Athletic Club who've enjoyed their recent meetings with the Valls, bagging a 3-1 victory and a 1-1 tie last couple of times around. Coincidentally, adding to their layers of advantage, Athletic Club has a solid regular-season record with 12 wins, 9 draws, and just 3 losses, while our friends from Valladolid have a bit of a patchy record with 4 wins, 3 ties, and a whopping 17 losses.
Lastly, and folks if I don't stress it enough, recent form is everything. For the Athletic Club, it's proved old sayings don't age. They recently forced ties with heavy hitters like Real Betis and Espanyol while managing a clean sheet victory against Girona. On the other hand, we find Valladolid with a form reminiscent of a botched soufflé, recently losing battles against the likes of Sevilla, Real Madrid, and Villarreal, and failing to hit the target in three of those last five skirmishes.
With the story laid bare before us, it seems Athletic Club is poised to outmaneuver Real Valladolid on this day. The margin might be tight, but soccer's never been a game of whopping spreads.
Albert's Prediction: Athletic Club by 2