Barcelona – Athletic Bilbao

In Catalonia, both opponents will be able to score at least one goal.

Barcelona started the current season as the champions of Spain. After the title returned to Catalonia, many football experts and fans began to talk about the new prospects for the 'blaugrana' and the revival of Barcelona to the level of the times when Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi played in the team. Given the number of young, yet already star players, such speculations have the right to be realized in practice. However, youth and stardom are not always compatible with the concept of ultimate success. After Barcelona was considered a favorite in the Champions League this season, the Catalans received heavy defeats both in Europe and on the national stage. In the elite continental tournament, they were defeated right in Catalonia by PSG, which hadn't even reached the level of the previous season yet. In La Liga, Barcelona 'suffered a crash' in a great historically significant clash with Real Madrid. Athletic Bilbao can take pride in their recent seasons. In the last edition of the Europa League, despite their ambitions to play in the home final, the Basques reached the semi-final stage, and now they represent La Liga in the Champions League. Undoubtedly, the club from Bilbao doesn’t always succeed on the national and European stages, however, in Barcelona, its players will play without trembling knees. Bookmakers have named the home team as the favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.44 on their victory. Barcelona continues to fight actively for all trophies. In the Champions League, there is no doubt about the Catalans' ability to secure a place in the TOP-8, and in La Liga, the 'blaugrana' managed to take advantage of a gift from Real Madrid, who lost points in a derby against Rayo Vallecano in the last round. The Achilles' heel of Barcelona remains their defensive play. It’s hard to believe, but Flick’s charges have conceded at least one goal in ten consecutive matches, while in their recent games, they scored a total of six goals against Szczesny in matches against Celta and Brugge. Athletic Bilbao will certainly capitalize on the Catalans’ problems, but they also won’t be able to keep their goal locked. In seventeen official matches of the current season, the Basques have only conceded three times. And those were against opponents of questionable strength: Elche, Rayo Vallecano, and Oviedo. In Barcelona, the opponents will exchange goals.