Athletic Bilbao v Las Palmas Betting Tips: Goals on the cards at San Mamés

On Friday night, Athletic Bilbao host Las Palmas at San Mamés as the Basque club look to get their push for European football back on track having lost last time out. On the other hand, the visitors will be hoping to continue in the same vein after they thrashed Betis 4-1 on Sunday evening.

As is so often the case when Las Palmas are involved, goals are expected in this fixture. Whenever the Gran Canaria club are on the pitch, the goals, both for and against, tend to flow and this fixture is expected to be no different. ‘Over 3.5 Goals’ and ‘Over 1.5 First Half Goals’ are the two angles of attack.

Last time out, Quique Setién’s men showed just how devastating they can be in the final third when scoring four against Betis, but, even when cruising, they couldn’t resist letting in a cheap goal – a common theme for the visitors during this campaign. There can be no question over Las Palmas’ quality going forward, but they really are lacking at the back.

Having notched 19 goals on the road, more than any other team in the bottom half, they’ve shown up well from an attacking sense, but the fact that 37 goals have been at the other end tells you just how poor they’ve been from a defensive point of view. A lot of these goals are conceded due to the attacking style Setién insists on employing. While such an outlook is quite refreshing, it’s also self-destructive at times and it appears as though conceding goals, especially on the road, is simply a formality for the Gran Canaria side. Unsurprisingly, they’ve kept zero clean sheets away from home and have seen ‘Over 3.5 Goals’ land when playing away from home more times than all but one of La Liga’s other 19 teams.

Given the way Las Palmas play, the hosts must be licking their lips ahead of this match. Bilbao are no slouches going forward at the best of times, but they really ought to thrive here with space in behind almost a guarantee. With 28 goals to their name at San Mamés, the hosts have looked a real threat and have only failed to score in two of their 16 home fixtures. However, in conceding 15, and keeping just four clean sheets, they’ve not exactly been the sharpest at the back. Against a Las Palmas side who will do their utmost to create chances, Ernesto Valverde’s men are certainly not safe.

With these two teams focusing more on the forward side of the game, it’s certainly not hard to see the goals arriving in this match. Aside from the way in which they play, the fact that ‘Over 3.5 Goals’ has landed in each of the last four Las Palmas’ away games, as well in seven of their last ten on the road, bodes well. There’s also been no shortage of first half goals when these two have taken to the pitch in recent times either. At least two goals have been scored before the break in four of the last five Las Palmas matches and in each of the last three Bilbao fixtures, not to mention each of the last five that Las Palmas have played on their travels.

All in all, if Las Palmas are in town then the goals tend to follow – this Friday night fixture at San Mamés is very much expected to follow suit.

Friday’s Ligue 1 tips can be found here.