LaLiga – Barcelona at home to Athletic Bilbao

Sunday at the Nou Camp, as Barca host Athletic Bilbao in the LaLiga.

Barca will travel to Athletic Bilbao, hoping to take points from their higher ranked rivals.

Barcelona have 42 points to their name, going into this tie

Barca will take a huge positive from their recent 1-4 win against Valencia at the Mestalla.

Also, Barca will hope to continue to frustrate opponents as their season continues, Los Blaugranas are showing the kind of consistency of performance that brings no losses in nine matches. They currently stand fourth in the League, with 42 points for a total of 11 wins, 4 losses and 9 draws having won 11 meetings, drawn nine games, and lost four matches.

Playing at home, Barca have won seven meetings, drawn two fixtures, and lost two matches.

Winning this fixture will see Barcelona on 45 points.

Good Attacking Performance

They have a good scoring average of 42 goals. This has been largely down to the key attacking players: Pedri (2), Frenkie De Jong (2), and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2). Barca have conceded 28 goals.

Barca may have to resort to second choice players, given the number of first choice players that are now unavailable through injury, illness or suspension.

Athletic Bilbao arrive at this fixture, having secured 37 points so far this season

Athletic Bilbao will hope to increase their wins in a row, having secured a 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad in their last fixture.

Also, Athletic Bilbao keep finding ways to win, having secured five victories in their last eight fixtures is astonishing this season. With 37 points, they currently sit eighth in the League. The breakdown for the team’s record is 9 wins, 6 losses and 10 draws having won nine matches, drawn 10 fixtures, and lost six matches.

Athletic Bilbao’s away record is remarkable and poses a significant threat to Barca. In the 13 games they’ve played on the road this season, they have so far won three meetings, drawn eight games, and lost two meetings.

Athletic Bilbao will have 40 points if they manage to secure a victory.

A solid defensive team

Athletic Bilbao have conceded 21 goals so far, so their defence can be considered to be strong. Athletic Bilbao have scored an impressive 29 goals so far this season, however their performances have at times been average. This season, their stand-out attacking players have been Oihan Sancet (2), Unai Simon (1), and Inigo Martinez (1).

It is likely that two key players will miss Sunday’s fixture, which is something of a concern for Marcelino and his Athletic Bilbao team.

Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao – Head-to-Heads.

Regarding their historical duels Barca and Athletic Bilbao have faced each other 74 times in the past, with the balance of wins sitting in Barca’s favour (46 – 13). Additionally, Athletic Bilbao have tasted defeat against Barca in twelve out of the last 19 matches with them.

Performance Report

For Barca, Pedri is a top performing player who has scored
two goals in 24 League fixtures this campaign, while Oihan Sancet has netted
two goals in 25 League games so far for Athletic Bilbao.

Other players of note for Barca are Frenkie De Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with two goals and two goals respectively and for Athletic Bilbao are Oihan Sancet and Unai Simon with two goals both.