Athletic Bilbao VS Barcelona Match Prediction

Barcelona are on a run of four straight wins in this fixture, so the head-to-head record does not look good for Athletic Bilbao here. Barca's two wins in La Liga last year were recorded 1-0 and 6-0, while they also beat Athletic in the Copa Del Rey. A 2-1 away win was followed up by a 3-1 success at Camp Nou to book Barca's place in the next round.

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Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona: Prediction

Barcelona looked imperious in their 6-2 demolition of Real Betis last time out and they should win again here, despite Athletic having a strong team of their own. There is a clear gulf in class between the two sides and while Neymar might not play any part, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are capable of causing more than enough havoc without the Brazilian. One weakness could be in goal where Cillessen is likely to be playing his first ever La Liga match.

Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona: Betting Tips

Barcelona are hot favourites here despite being away from home, with 8/15 looking decent value on Enrique's men maintaining their 100 per cent start to the new La Liga season. The hosts can be found at as big as 6/1 here, while the draw is available at around the 10/3 mark.

There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 15 of Barcelona's last 17 games so we will take over 2.5 goals at 11/18 here, as well as Barcelona HT/FT at a price of 11/8, due to the fact that Barcelona have been winning at both half-time and full-time in five of their last six matches.

A 2-1 loss at Sporting Gijon last weekend was a disappointing way to start the new La Liga campaign for Athletic Bilbao, who could promote Viguera to the starting line-up after his goalscoring impact from the bench in that game. Veteran striker Aritz Aduriz remains the key man for Athletic, while Inaki Williams is a midfielder who looks to have a big future.

Athletic Bilbao likely XI:

Barcelona's 6-2 win at Real Betis showed they are still devastating on the attack and the return of Neymar after his exploits in winning the Olympics with Brazil recently boosts the options available to Luis Enrique further. Neymar may be given time to recover, while goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is an injury doubt. With Claudio Bravo moving to Manchester City, new signing Jasper Cillessen could be in line to make his Barcelona debut. Jeremy Mathieu is also out.

Barcelona likely XI:

Barcelona are on track for another La Liga title challenge and should collect three points here, although Athletic Bilbao are a decent side that should not be underestimated. Scoring six goals last weekend laid down a marker to the rest of the league and Luis Enrique\'s team could aim for another big score this weekend. An easy away win for Barcelona.

Barcelona have scored at least twice in 10 of their last 11 away matches in La Liga.