Copa del Rey Semifinals Leg 1 Odds & Picks: Vallecano vs Betis & Bilbao vs Valencia

• The Copa del Rey semifinals begin on Wednesday, with Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atleti nowhere to be seen
• Rayo Vallecano clash with Real Betis, while Bilbao face Valencia
• Find the odds and betting previews for both games below

The Copa del Rey is coming down to the wire, with just four teams left in the competition.

On Wednesday, Rayo Vallecano will welcome Real Betis to the Estadio de Vallecas for the first leg of their semifinal, while Athletic Bilbao host Valencia on Thursday.

Keep reading for the odds and previews for the two fixtures.

Rayo Vallecano vs Real Betis Odds

All odds as of February 7th at Barstool.

Rayo Vallecano vs Real Betis Prediction

Rayo Vallecano’s quest for their first-ever Copa del Rey title continues on Wednesday against a Betis side who are enjoying a fine league campaign. Vallecano however, comes into this game in a bit of a rut, having tasted defeat in two of the last three matches.

Andoni Iraola’s men lost 2-0 to Celta Vigo over the weekend in La Liga and also fell to Athletic Club prior to the international break. Vallecano did manage to beat Mallorca in the quarters though thanks to an Oscar Trejo penalty just before the halftime whistle. That was their only goal in the previous three fixtures, also conceding four times during that span.

Betis saw a six-game unbeaten run end on the weekend as they were beaten 2-0 by Villarreal. However, Manuel Pelligrini’s squad is still sitting pretty in the table, comfortably in third place and seven points off Sevilla, who are in second. Despite the disappointing defeat, Betis has been lethal in cup play, putting four past Real Sociedad last Thursday in the quarterfinals behind a brace from Juanmi. In fact, they actually eliminated Sevilla in the round of 16 as well, which certainly helped their La Liga odds.

Rayo is a stellar 8-2-1 at the Estadio de Vallecas and previously played to a 1-1 draw with Betis in January. They’re extremely tough to break down on home soil and the visitors are fresh off a poor result. The two sides will play to a stalemate here.

Pick: Draw +215

Athletic Bilbao vs Valencia Odds

Athletic Bilbao vs Valencia Prediction

Athletic Club will be looking to take down another established Spanish counterpart in the semifinals as they lock horns with Valencia on Thursday.

Bilbao has already defeated Barcelona and Real Madrid in the last two rounds of the Copa del Rey and also grabbed another victory on Monday in La Liga against Espanyol. Marcelino Garcia Toral’s side is actually in top form right now, losing only once in their last nine outings across all competitions and that was in the Supercopa de Espana against Los Blancos.

Athletic seemingly got revenge on Madrid though on Thursday, with Alejandro Berenguer Remiro’s 89th winner proving to be enough to knock the giants out of the Spanish Cup.

Valencia is in the midst of a dismal season, currently sitting in 11th place in the league table. That’s unfamiliar territory for Los Che, who are either regularly in the Champions League or Europa. But, Jose Bordalas’s men still have a shot at grabbing one piece of hardware this term.

Bilbao will be a daunting task, though. In the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, Valencia just sneaked past Cadiz thanks to goals from Goncalo Guedes and Hugo Duro, who put away a header late in the second half. Their form is improving recently as well, losing just once in their last five appearances.

The previous three meetings between Bilbao and Valencia saw the two sides share the spoils. While Los Che is trending upward, Athletic just took out Barca and Madrid. Their confidence is going to be sky high and that’ll result in a crucial first-leg victory at home. Also, the under has been hit in eight of the last nine encounters. It holds tremendous value.

Pick: Athletic Bilbao (-113), Under 2.5 Goals (-155)