Real Betis vs Athletic Bilbao: La Liga Prediction (31.08.2025)

On 31 August 2025 at 19:00 CEST at the La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, Real Betis will host Athletic Bilbao in the third round of La Liga 2025/26. The hosts have played three matches, remaining unbeaten but collecting only five points. The visitors, meanwhile, have won both of their opening games and are among the early league leaders.

Last season, the clubs finished next to each other in the standings, and bookmakers give nearly equal chances for Betis vs Athletic Bilbao. Odds: Betis to win – 2.98, draw – 3.12, Athletic to win – 2.63. Total over 2.5 goals is priced at 2.23, reflecting expectations of a low-scoring, defense-heavy game. Both teams to score is offered at 1.87.

Betis

Last season, Manuel Pellegrini’s side scored fewer goals compared to other La Liga contenders, while conceding 50 in 38 games – too many to compete for Champions League spots. Ahead of this season, the club reinforced their defense.

So far, results have been mixed: a 1:1 away draw with Elche, a 1:0 home win over Alavés, and a 1:1 draw away to Celta. The opposition wasn’t the strongest, but Betis’ attack still lacked sharpness to score at least twice in any match.

Athletic Bilbao

Ernesto Valverde’s men opened with two home matches, winning both: 3:2 against Sevilla and 1:0 over Rayo Vallecano. The “Red and Whites” are traditionally solid defensively, conceding only 29 goals last season – a sharp contrast to Betis.

Their only notable summer signing was right-back Jesús Areso from Osasuna. His first match was shaky, but by the second round he earned strong reviews.

Head-to-head statistics

Since 2022, the sides have met seven times. Betis lead with 3 wins to Athletic’s 1. Last season, both encounters ended in draws: 1:1 in Bilbao and 2:2 in Seville.

Prediction

In the last two seasons, meetings between these sides have been quite high-scoring, averaging four goals per game. Bookmakers expect defenses to dominate this time, but we’ll go against that trend and back Over 2 goals at odds 1.67.