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Athletic Bilbao will make the trip to Spotify Camp Nou for their La Liga encounter with Barcelona on Thursday.
The visitors will look to bounce back after suffering a disappointing home defeat in their league opener last weekend.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are eyeing their fourth consecutive win.
Read our Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao prediction, preview and betting tips below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao key stats
- At least three goals were scored in five of Athletic Bilbao's last six matches.
- Barcelona won the last six encounters between these sides.
- Athletic Bilbao have drawn blanks in the last five H2Hs.
Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao preview: Barcelona's dominance to continue?
Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao — Tale of the Tape
| Barcelona | vs | Athletic Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | Position | 18th |
| 3 | Points | 0 |
| 5 | Goals For | 1 |
| 0 | Goals Against | 3 |
| 1 | Clean Sheets | 0 |
| N/A | Home / Away Rank | N/A |
*These figures were accurate at the time of publishing.
Barcelona kicked off their new La Liga campaign in style, cruising to a comfortable 5-0 victory at Elche.
Hansi Flick's men have now won three games in a row, averaging four goals during that stretch.
The reigning league champions have a fresh midfield injury concern with Gavi, who was forced off with a knee injury against Elche and will remain sidelined alongside midfielders Frenkie de Jong (meniscus) and Roony Bardghji (ACL).
With that in mind, Flick is not expected to make significant changes to the team that defeated Elche on Sunday, but Pedri should replace the injured Gavi in midfield.
On the other hand, Athletic Bilbao's opening game did not go as well as expected, as they were down to 10 men in just the first 11 minutes, ultimately suffering a 3-1 defeat at home.
The Basque side have now lost three games in a row, and their winless streak in this competition extends to five matches.
Head coach Edin Terzic will have to do without Oihan Sancet (hamstring), Nico Serrano (knee), Daniel Vivian (groin), and Unai Eguiluz (ACL), while Yuri Berchiche is suspended for this trip due to his sending-off in their league opener.
This fixture has been very one-sided in recent years, as Barcelona won the last six H2Hs and are unbeaten in their last seven encounters.
Furthermore, Athletic Bilbao did not score a single goal in their last five skirmishes with Barcelona, and they lost both halves in four of them.
Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao form guide & betting tips
| Barcelona | vs | Athletic Bilbao |
|---|---|---|
W
|
La Liga Form |
W
|
| 3 | Points | 0 |
| 4th | Form Table | 18th |
| 5 | Goals For | 1 |
| 0 | Goals Against | 3 |
W
L
W
W
W
|
Form (All Comps) |
W
W
L
L
L
|
Whispers Predicts: Barcelona 3-0 Athletic Bilbao
At 7/20 (1.35), Barcelona are considered favourites by the bookies ahead of this clash.
These teams are on opposite sides in terms of recent form, and considering Barcelona's dominance over Athletic Club in recent years, anything other than a comfortable victory for the Catalan giants would be surprising.
Moreover, Barcelona opened the scoring in the last six H2Hs, leading at the half-time break in four of them, and this can be backed at 8/11 (1.73).
We also fancy Barcelona to win-to-nil at 27/20 (2.35). This landed in the last five meetings between these teams.
> Under 3.5 total goals at 3/4 (1.75) | Likelihood: Probable
> BTTS – No at 21/20 (2.05) | Likelihood: Probable
> HT result: Draw at 8/11 (1.73) | Likelihood: Probable
> Barcelona & BTTS – No at 27/20 (2.35) | Likelihood: Probable
> Correct Score: 3-0 at 8/1 (9.00) | Likelihood: Outsider