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" Real Betis coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer feels the clash with Athletic Bilbao will provide an indicator of how far his Champions League-chasing side have come this season. Ferrer saw his men climb into sixth position in the Primera Liga with a 3-1 win over Osasuna last weekend.

Betis now lie just one point off the third and fourth Champions League spots, currently occupied by Valencia and Sevilla. And Ferrer admits the encounter with the Basque outfit, who have lost just one match at home this season, is a good test of their European credentials.

"We will be able to show in San Mames if we are a great team or not," he said. "Athletic are so strong at home and so it will be a good opportunity to test our potential. But the main aim is to take something positive from the game and we must go there with that idea. If we come back with three points or a draw then that also would be very positive. Despite gaining a fairly comfortable three points against Osasuna at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera thanks to strikes by David Rivas, Marcos Assuncao - his third goal in successive games - and Ricardo Oliveira, Ferrer insists there is room for improvement.

"In the first half, we created a lot of chances to grab a goal and in the second we did not push forward as much but instead waited for counter-attacks. Again, we had several chances but only scored one of them," he added. But a team cannot always win and we are a team which has virtues and limitations. Overall I am happy with the way we are playing and the signs are good for this season but I think that the team has a margin in which to improve."

Ferrer faces a selection headache in defence against Athletic with his squad suffering a catalogue of injuries and suspensions. Juan Melli and Rivas are banned, while Washington Tais, Paolo Castellini and Luis Fernandez are all injured. The back-line is likely to consist of Juan Canas, Oscar Varela, Juanito and David Llano. Ninth-placed Athletic, unbeaten in eight games, are six points adrift of a UEFA Cup place. They could only manage a 1-1 draw against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend in a game in which they had plenty of chances to clinch the victory.

"I have always said it is an honour to coach Athletic and what will happen will happen," said coach Ernesto Valverde, who has been approached by the club to renew his contract. This week we have a vital game because we are now a number of points off where we want to be and we have dropped several opportunities to win matches recently. We now play against a team who are in a position where we should be. Bilbao have scored ten goals in their last four home games, while betis have lost three out of their last four away trips. Im on Bilbao at a very good EVENS at Skybet!

Recommendation: Athletic Bilbao @ EVENS with Skybet [£10 Free Bet]

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