Having scored an all-important away goal in the first leg, Athletic Bilbao welcome Dinamo Bucaresti to the New San Mames to finish the job. With the first match ending level at 1-1 in Romania, Athletic Bilbao will feel as though they have the advantage and should be able to win the home leg to progress to the playoff round of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League.
Twice Athletic Bilbao have reached the final of this competition but came off second best. They lost in a two-legged final against Juventus in 1977 and against fellow Spanish club Atletico Madrid in the 2012 Europa League final. Dinamo Bucaresti have featured in the group stages of the Europa League in 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2009/10. Since then, they have failed to get beyond the playoff round.
Athletic Bilbao Form
Athletic Bilbao have only played 1 competitive fixture this season which was the first leg of this tie last week. Since then they have played 2 friendly matches and won both, defeating Renus Deportiu and Portugalete. In the Europa League, they lost only 1 of their previous 6 games which was at APOEL last season.
At home, they have been very strong and have lost just 1 of their last 12 home matches in the competition. The only defeat came against fellow Spanish club Sevilla. However, conceding goals has been a problem and Athletic Bilbao have allowed 9 goals in their last 5 home Europa League games.
Dinamo Bucaresti Form
The new Romanian league season has begun and Dinamo Bucaresti find themselves in third place having won 2 and lost 1 of their opening 3 games. Having been held to a 1-1 draw by Athletic Bilbao last week, Dinamo Bucaresti travelled to Viitorul in Liga I and came away with a good 1-0 win.
In the Europa League, recent results have not been good. Dinamo Bucaresti have failed to win any of their previous 5 games in the competition, suffering 4 defeats and picking up 1 draw. Away from home they have lost 5 of their last 7 games in the Europa League but have managed to score in each of their last 3 games on the road.
Team News
Athletic Bilbao will be wary of conceding any away goal and Aymeric Laporte will be a key figure defensively as well as in attacking set-piece situations. Aritz Aduriz will hope to start up-front and get his first goal of the campaign. Dinamo Bucaresti are likely to come out with the same starting XI from the first leg injuries permitting. Rivaldinho, the son of Brazilian great Rivaldo scored a great goal in the first leg and will be hoping to get another.
Top Betting Tips
Athletic Bilbao are the favourites to win this game and progress to the next round of the Europa League. They have the better team on paper and the home advantage. Athletic Bilbao to win is 1/4 at William Hill. Despite being the favourites, Athletic Bilbao have been far from solid at home in the Europa League and may need to score more than 1 goal to progress. This makes the home win and both teams to score bet at 11/4 with Ladbrokes very tempting. If they concede the first goal, Dinamo Bucaresti will need to attack and this could lead to further goals for the home team. Over 3.5 goals is 6/4 at William Hill.