19:00 Thursday

Valencia vs Athletic Bilbao – Athletic Bilbao win in 90 minutes

The first leg of our Thursday treble sees Athletic Bilbao travel to the Mestella to face Valencia.

Valencia drew to Almeria on the weekend and are currently languishing in midtable in La Liga. The hosts will be looking to reach back to back Copa del Rey finals, after losing to Real Betis on penalties last season. Of the two sides, they are the more recent winners of the competition, after they beat Barcelona in the 2018/19 final.

Bilbao have also had a mixed record recently in the Copa del Rey, losing both the 2020 and 2021 Copa del Rey finals, which both took place within the space of two weeks as the 2020 final was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are still the second-most successful club in this tournament having won this competition 23 times, just behind Barcelona with 31 Copa del Rey trophies.

Valencia did beat Bilbao in last season's Copa del Rey semi-finals, but with the hosts out of form, we think the visitors get their revenge in Valencia, and we think they’ll win in 90 minutes here.

20:00 Thursday

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid win in 90 minutes

The second leg of the treble sees Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid lock horns once again.

Los Blancos beat Atletico earlier on in the season back in September, but following Madrid’s recent El Clasico defeat to Barcelona, they could be in for a tougher task this time round. Despite a good run of form in La Liga, they are still three points behind Barcelona, who are in top spot.

Atletico Madrid are accustomed to the Champions League, but after a rather average season, they are currently level on points with Villarreal, who are occupying 5th place only on goal difference. They also sit 10 points behind their Madrid rivals, but tonight could be a huge opportunity to send a message of intent.

At the Bernabau, we think Real Madrid will book their place in the semi-final at the expense of Atletico Madrid within 90 minutes, but there is a chance this could go all the way to penalties, particularly given the fiery history of the derby.

20:00 Thursday

Ajax vs FC Volendam – Ajax win

Ajax, who have been struggling in the Eredivisie, have a chance to end their winless run against Volendam.

The hosts are without a win in six games, drawing the last five, and are five points off the pace of Feyernoord. They also risk losing Champions League football, which has become an expectation in Amsterdam.

Volendam have an all different threat to face as they battle for their place in the division. They have, however, won two of their last three in the league, which has lifted them off the bottom of the table. They are still occupying 17th place, but with Groningen playing Cambuur in a relegation scrap, they could fall further off the pace with a negative result.

We can’t see Volendam getting a positive result in Amsterdam, which would surely see the end of Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder following reports of an open dressing room revolt. Whatever happens with Schreuder, we think Ajax should win comfortably against Volendam.