Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao preview, prediction, team news, and head-to-head

Both teams will come into this fixture riding the momentum of the victories they recorded before the international break. However, the visitors have lost two games prior to the last match against Oviedo.

Before the break, Barcelona recorded a comfortable 4-2 win against Celta Vigo. This victory ensured the Catalan giants were able to close the gap on the La Liga table to 3 points, putting pressure on Real Madrid, who dropped 2 points before the break.

Hansi Flick will be happy as a good number of his players performed excellently well during the World Cup qualification matches during the break. Robert Lewandowski found the back of the net for Poland's last match. Dani Olmo, and Ferran Torres were also on the score sheet for Spain.

Despite being inconsistent, Athletic Club will come into this fixture riding on a 1-0 win against newly promoted Real Oviedo. That win was needed as Ernesto Valverde's men were already in a three match losing streak prior to that game.

While this will be a difficult task for the Lions, they will hope to get at least a point from this game. This will help them improve their standing on the table and keep their hopes for a global tournament next season alive.

Don't forget to check out our daily betting tips on BET OF THE DAY.

It's no surprise that Barcelona has an upper hand in the H2H battle against Athletic Club. The Blaugrana are unbeaten in their last 15 meetings against Bilbao in all competitions (10W, 5D).

The last time Athletic club recorded a win against Barca was in a Copa dey Rey match in February 2020, where they won 1-0. Sergio Busquets scored an own goal in the 90+3 minutes to hand them the victory.

Good news for Hansi Flick and his team is the return of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Joan Garcia to training. While Pedri and Marc Casado are still in minor doubt, they are recovering well and will likely be available for the match against Chelsea in midweek.

Other players that will miss the clash against Bilbao for Barca include Frankie De Jong (suspended), Gavi (knee injury) and Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back injury). However, the manager still has a variety of options for his attacking lineup, including in-form Rashford, who is on loan from Man United.

Ernesto Valverde also has some injury concerns to contend with. The manager will travel to Camp Nou without key attacking stars Nico Williams and Inaki Williams. Oihan Sancet will also be unavailable for the Lions.

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde; Casado, Olmo; Fermin, Yamal, Rashford; Lewandowski

Athletic Bilbao (4-2-3-1): Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Laporte, Boiro; Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar; Berenguer, Vesga, Navarro; Guruzeta

The Catalan giants are clear favourites in this fixture due to their superior H2H records and better squad quality. The home team will also not want to leave any stone unturned as they hope to continue mounting pressure on League leaders, Real Madrid.

Games involving Barcelona are usually entertaining and produce goals. Therefore, bettors on LiveScore Bet can stake on not just the Blaugrana to win but on scoring plenty of goals, as we have seen in their previous matches. 

Prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Athletic Bilbao

• Bet on Barcelona to win 

• Over 3.5 goals

• Lewandoski to score