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Athletic Bilbao are set to play Barcelona at the San Mamés on Sunday in La Liga.
Athletic Bilbao come into this game on the back of a 0-0 draw against Andoni Iraola's Rayo Vallecano in the league. Athletic Bilbao had midfielder Oihan Sancet sent off late in the second half.
Barcelona, on the other hand, beat Valencia 1-0 in the league. A first-half goal from Brazilian winger Raphinha was enough to seal the deal for Xavi's Barcelona, who had Uruguayan centre-back Ronald Araujo sent off in the second half.
Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- In 45 head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Barcelona have won 29 games, lost seven and drawn nine.
- Midfielder Oihan Sancet has scored eight goals in the league in 22 league starts for Athletic Bilbao this season.
- Striker Gorka Guruzeta has scored five goals this season in just seven league starts for Athletic Bilbao.
- Polish superstar Robert Lewandowski has 20 goal contributions in 19 league starts for Barcelona this season.
- French winger Ousmane Dembele has 10 goal contributions in 14 league starts for Barcelona.
Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Prediction
Athletic Bilbao are currently ninth in the standings and have won two of their last five league games.
In charge of the club is former Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde. He is a man who was probably not a club favorite during his time at Barcelona but whose reign, in hindsight, certainly demands more respect given what has subsequently been revealed about the happenings behind the scenes at the club.
Valverde is now in his third spell as Athletic Bilbao manager, and the Spaniard will hope that the club improves form and hopefully qualifies for European football next season.
Barcelona, on the other hand, are top of the league table, nine points behind second-placed Real Madrid. That is all well and good, but they took a big gamble financially by signing the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Ferran Torres.
Surely all that money was not spent to dominate La Liga alone. Much was expected from Barcelona in Europe, but they have proved to be exceedingly disappointing this season. They look likely to win the league at a canter, but questions remain about their finances.
Barcelona to win this game.
Prediction: Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Barcelona
Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Barcelona
Tip 2: Game to have over / under 2.5 goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: Barcelona to keep a clean sheet - Yes
