FC Barcelona host Athletic Bilbao in La Liga Matchday 21
Barcelona face a Basque team looking for revenge after being knocked out by the Catalans in the Copa del Rey.
Form
The Catalans go into this match on the back of an excellent result against Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey. They are in good form going in to this match with a run of eight games unbeaten in all competitions. At Camp Nou, they haven’t lost since the beginning of October, which was against Deportivo Alavés.
In contrast to this, Athletic Bilbao are in mixed form with only one win in the last five games. That win did come in their last game, which was against Sporting Gijón. Prior to that, they did draw 2-2 at home against Atletico Madrid, so Barcelona should be wary of them. Bilbao are extremely poor away from home, though, with no wins in six games.
Squads
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Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Lucas Digne are all missing from the squad due to still being in the recovery phase from their injuries. Aside from that, there are no other issues affecting the team. Marc-André ter Stegen returns to the squad after being rotated out due to Jasper Cillessen being the main goalkeeper for the Copa del Rey matches. Ernesto Valverde has a few injuries affecting his squad selection. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Xabier Etxeita and Sabin Merino are all out for this match. He was made to sweat on the fitness of Aymeric Laporte, but he is available for this match.
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History
Recent history favours Barça with four wins in the last five games and seven wins in the last ten. The most recent games were the two legs of the Copa del Rey Round of Sixteen which Barcelona won 4-3 on aggregate with their 3-1 home win pulling them through. This shows that they are always a tough opponent due to their high pressing which requires the Barcelona players to be playing at their very best. However, Los Leones haven’t won at the Camp Nou since 2001. Lionel Messi will be looking to add to his impressive record against Athletic Bilbao which currently stands at twenty-one goals and nine assists in thirty games.
Playing Style
As mentioned in previous articles, Bilbao are famed for their aggressive pressing up the pitch, which continues the principles implemented by Marcelo Bielsa when he was the manager. When playing away from home they aren’t as audacious. This probably contributes to their poor form at Camp Nou due to allowing the Catalans too much control, and, therefore, too much time to break down their defence.
Barcelona are weaker than usual due to the injuries to Busquets and Iniesta. Javier Mascherano is a good replacement for Busquets due to his defensive nous, but he isn’t as good at picking out a pass especially when he is under pressure. The lack of Iniesta reduces the fluidity of the midfield as well as the control that Barça exert on the match because of his excellent link up play with the midfield and the front three. However, Barcelona should have more than enough creativity and experience in this team to see this game through.
Prediction: FC Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Bilbao
Predicted Lineup
Rafinha instead of Denis Suárez is a possibility.