Will Barcelona win against Athletic Bilbao despite personnel problems?
Fc Barcelona needs to step up this time in the fight for the championship title in La Liga. League leaders and rivals Real Madrid host Sevilla early Saturday evening, so they can go ahead and pull away to six points. FC Barcelona doesn’t host Athletic Bilbao until 9 p.m. Sunday night at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Three points behind Barcelona currently trail Real Madrid ahead of Matchday 10 in La Liga, so these could rise to four or six points on Sunday depending on the outcome in Sevilla. Either way, a win is therefore mandatory for the team of coach Xavi Hernandez. Although the match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is a natural prediction for a home win, it is not an easy task for the Catalans, who have to deal with several important absences.
In addition, Athletic Club from Bilbao has presented itself in good shape so far this season, as 5th place in La Liga illustrates. A walk in the park with a relaxed Barça victory, as there was in the last meeting in Barcelona (4-0), should not be expected this time.
Instead, it could be a tough battle, as FC Barcelona itself was not exactly in great form before the international break. There are good reasons to at least consider the betting odds on a draw or even a win for the visitors in Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona – statistics & current form
For FC Barcelona, the international break came just in time for a variety of reasons. There was not only the meager yield of one victory from three games – twice there were only disappointing draws in La Liga. In Granada and in Mallorca, Barça only managed a 2-2 draw – both times the Blaugrana even fell behind and had to rescue a point. The loss of points against the minor relegation candidates was as surprising as it was disappointing for Xavi Hernandez’s team.
Without Lewandowski, de Jong and Co: FC Barcelona plagued by injury misery
But the international break also came at the right time for Barcelona, as the many injured players had two weeks without a game to continue to heal their injuries. In Robert Lewandowski (ankle injury), Pedri (muscle injury), Frenkie de Jong (sprained ankle), Jules Kounde (knee injury) and Raphinha (thigh strain) are currently five important regular players out.
This week, Sergi Roberto also suffered a calf injury in training, while Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde returned from the Spanish national team with injuries. At least the latter two returned to training, but still, of course, a rump squad will be on the pitch against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
In view of this injury plight, betting on a home victory before the Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao match is truly no longer a foregone conclusion. Xavi will have to change his eleven a lot, even if the Barça coach still has some interesting options in hand. However, the bench in particular will be so mighty thin if, for example, the score is only drawn for a longer period of time – as we think, this is an interesting prediction for Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao.
Predicted Barcelona lineup:
Athletic Bilbao – statistics & current form
Not only the injury situation at Barcelona makes the game harder for the Catalan favorite, but also the guest from the Basque Country should not be underestimated at all. With 17 points from nine games, Bilbao is in a strong 5th place in the table, five wins with 16 to 9 goals can truly be seen.
The start of the season has been successful, and Athletic Bilbao was also unimpressed by the harsh 3-0 defeat in the Basque derby against Real Sociedad, winning 3-0 against Almeria immediately afterwards and going into the international break with a good feeling.
Can Athletic Bilbao finally take something countable from Barcelona again?
A good feeling will also be needed to be able to absolutely take points from Barcelona again, after all, the last time they managed to do so was in 2018 (1-1). Although Bilbao doesn’t score many goals away from home – four in four guest matches only this season – it has picked up two wins and seven points away from home.
An encouraging sign ahead of the tough trip to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. If you believe in the Basque guests winning a point on Sunday, you should set your sights on the odds on the double chance at Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao, which are very good at 2.25 in parts.
Predicted lineup of Athletic Bilbao:
Barcelona – Athletic Bilbao Direct comparison / H2H balance
The direct comparison – at least in La Liga – recently spoke a clear language: Barcelona won the last three duels each to zero (1-0, 4-0, 4-0), especially the last two home games were very clear with 4-0 each. Bilbao has struggled to score goals in Catalonia, with only two draws and nine goals in their last 20 visits, while eleven times they have failed to score against the Blaugrana.
Another win for the home side with Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao is dated with odds well above 2.00. However, since the Athletic Club from Bilbao has already scored 16 goals this season – only five teams have more, including Barça itself – you could also bet on the opposite and thus on a goal by the guests.
Barcelona – Athletic Bilbao betting tip
Arg decimated Barcelona thus receives Bilbao on Sunday – without Lewandowski is missing up front the goal ace, without Pedri and de Jong the control center in midfield. Yamal has to replace Raphinha, but he has also been injured recently, and Ferran Torres is needed as a center forward and Lewandowski’s replacement in the center. The midfield and forward line will therefore be thin against an opponent from the Basque Country, who will certainly put in a much better performance this time than in their last visit in October.
Athletic has a good form, a good offense and a good defense (less goals conceded than Barcelona, already five wins to nil) and FC Barcelona has massive personnel worries, so we expect a tough struggle. In the end, we still believe the favorite will win, because Bilbao is much more toothless in Barcelona than in home games at the San Mames for whatever reason. Our Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao tip, however, aims for the (narrow) home win with a goal against, because Barça presented itself at the back recently against Granada and Mallorca, two much weaker teams, also anything but sattelfest.
