The pain and sorrow of Lionel Messi’s departure were alleviated to some extent by Barcelona’s victory over Real Sociedad last weekend. The Catalans looked in top form, convincingly winning the game at Camp Nou. Next up, a tricky test awaits Barcelona as they travel to San Memes to face Athletic Bilbao.
The Basque club have always posed a difficult challenge for the Blaugrana at the San Memes. Barca’s win against La Real was a collective effort and they will be hoping to replicate a similar performance and make two wins out of two in La Liga. On the other hand, Bilbao is searching for their first win of the season after drawing to Elche.
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Ronald Koeman spoke to the press ahead of the game, explaining some of his key squad decisions. The Dutchman left Philippe Coutinho out of the squad as he feels that the Brazilian still lacks the physical rhythm to take part in the match.
Meanwhile, Pedri will be given a much-needed break after this game and will be hoping that Luis Enrique doesn’t call Pedri to the national team as the 18-year-old finally gets his much-needed vacation. Ansu Fati and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are in the final stages of their recovery but are still unavailable for the game.
Here is the Barcelona predicted line-up vs Athletic Bilbao:
Goalkeeper: Neto
In Ter Stegen’s absence, Neto will once again start in goal for Barcelona. The Brazilian has been linked with a Camp Nou exit, previously attracting attention from Arsenal but with the Gunners signing Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal’s search for a goalkeeper has come to an end. Neto was decent against Sociedad and could have done very little to stop the two goals. The 32-year-old will have be vigilant against the likes of Inaki Williams and Oihan Sancet.