Athletic Club vs Barcelona Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

La Liga leaders Barcelona will travel to square up vs Athletic Club in search of their 21st win in the league on Sunday.

Barcelona are all set to hit the road to square up vs Athletic Club. Xavi Hernandez’s men will look to continue their dominance in the league, while the hosts will look to return to winning ways.

Athletic Club have had a tough time of late in La Liga. They have been winless in the last three fixtures. The home team have only managed to accumulate seven points in their last five league outings, and it has been a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for any of the European competitions.

However, they can still push for a European spot with a late surge in the league. But, Athletic Club will have to start the process against league leaders on Sunday. As far as all competitions are concerned, they have only won one out of their last five fixtures.

Ernesto Valverde’s men are heading into this encounter on the back of a 0-0 draw against seventh-placed Rayo Vallecano. It was an evenly-contested match between two quality outfits, and they did get what they deserved out of this fixture. However, Athletic Club will have to be better vs Barcelona if they want to secure any points of this fixture.

Xavi’s men have been doing wonders in the league this season. And, the majority of it has been on the back of a rock-solid defence. They have the best defensive record in the league, having conceded just eight goals. The next best is 18 by Real Madrid.

While their loss against Almeria came as a shock they managed to bounce back in their last outing. The Catalan giants head into this encounter on the back of a 1-0 win over Valencia despite being down to ten men after Ronald Araújo was sent off in the 59th minute.

Barcelona have had a mixed bag of results in the last five fixtures in all competitions. They have won three and lost two. Meanwhile, Xavi’s men still have a great record in their last five league outings, winning four of those matches.

Barcelona sit at the top with 62 points after 24 matches and would love to add three more points to their tally before they prepare to square up against rivals Real Madrid who are currently second in La Liga. They will be confident of claiming all three points when they travel to San Mames given their track record in the league.

Last time when the two teams met in the league, Barcelona won 4-0 at home. They will be looking for something similar when they hit the road. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict their tactics.

Team News & Tactics

Athletic Club

Athletic Club will be without the services of Jon Morcillo and Inigo Lekue, who are out injured. While the duo of Unai Simon and Ander Herrera are in doubt for this fixture against the league leaders. Meanwhile, Oihan Sancet will also miss this match due to suspension.

Ernesto Valverde’s team will start with the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Julen Agirrezabala in goal. The back four will comprise of Oscar De Marcos, Barcelona target Inigo Martinez, Yeray Alvarez, Yuri Berchiche. De Marcos and Berchiche will start as the full-back and look to go higher up the field whenever there is an opportunity.

Mikel Vesga and Dani Garcia will start as the double pivots in front of the defence. They will look to control the ball as well help out their defence against a deadly Barcelona attack.

Nico Williams, Iker Muniain, and Alex Berenguer will team up in the midfield behind their star striker Inaki Williams. Nico and Berenguer will look to provide the width while Muniain will start as an attacking midfielder.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Martinez, Alvarez, Berchiche; Vesga, Garcia; Nico Williams, Muniain, Berenguer; Inaki Williams

Barcelona

The league leaders will be without the services of Pedri and Ousmane Dembele, who are out due to hamstring injuries. Barcelona will also miss Ronald Araujo who was sent off in their last fixture and has been suspended for this match.

Apart from the above-mentioned name, others are expected to be available. Xavi will once again look to start with the 4-3-3 formation, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal. Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde will start as the full-backs, while Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen will team up in the centre of the defence.

Sergio Busquets will resume his duties as the central defensive midfielder, and he will have the support of Gavi and Frenkie de Jong in the midfield. Raphinha and Ansu Fati will start out wide on the flanks. And, La Liga’s top scorer Robert Lewandowski will be leading the lines as the Catalan giants search for their 21st league win.

Possible Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Kounde, Garcia, Christensen, Balde; de Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Fati

Key Stats

• Barcelona have won 29 games out of the 45 encounters between the two teams. They have only lost seven times.
• Athletic Bilbao midfielder Oihan Sancet has scored eight goals in 22 league starts this season.
• Striker Gorka Guruzeta who has started just seven league games this season has five goals to his name.
• Robert Lewandowski is leading the race for the La Liga golden boot and has 20 goal contributions in 19 league starts for Barcelona this season.
• Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele has ten goal contributions in 14 league starts in the ongoing season.

Player to Watch

Ansu Fati

Embed from Getty Images

Ansu Fati came onto the scene at Barcelona in some fashion after graduating from their famous La Masia academy. Initially, he was on top of the world, but injuries have reduced him to a squad rotation player. However, there is still a belief that the 20-year-old can turn things around.

He has featured in 36 matches so far this season but has only accumulated just over 1,300 minutes. He has nine goal contributions to his name and will look to add to it when he takes the field against Athletic Club.

Prediction

Athletic Club 0-3 Barcelona

Barcelona have the best defence in the league. They have only conceded eight goals in their 24 outings. While they will be missing Araujo who has been one of their best players so far, they are still expected to keep a clean sheet against the ninth-placed team.

With Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Raphinha forming a formidable trio in attack expect the Catalan giants to score goals for fun. Meanwhile, Athletic Club have not been at their best in the recent past and they might struggle against Barcelona. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-0 win for the league leaders.