Nothing is clear about these two. Villarreal have won 6 games in a row in the Spanish league. But everyone knows how the things developed in Bilbao. Villarreal scored twice but then conceded 3. It’s a surprise how they could give away this game.
Bilbao have lost Raul Garcia in the match against Sevilla. But the Basques have a character. They are unlikely to open up, given that they won in the first match. If the Yellow Submarine scores in the first half, the guests will have to go forward in the second one. There’ll be a lot of set pieces and Athletic are good at that. If the guest score first or there will be a draw after HT, it will be Villarreal that will go forward. Bilbao could use that in counter-attacks.
All this makes me think that either way Bilbao will score in the second half. Athletic have already scored 15 goals after half time. And don’t forget the first leg, when they scored 3 in the second half.