Barcelona continue their march towards the La Liga title as they travel to Athletic Bilbao for a Sunday night fixture.
Athleti have not been at their best lately having suffered three defeats and a draw from their last four matches across all competitions. Sitting ninth on the table, four points off the top six, they remain in the mix for a European finish.
The Basque club head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 0-0 draw at Rayo Vallecano in their previous La Liga fixture. The result means Ernesto Valverde’s men have now failed to score in three of their last four matches.
Things have also been rough for Athletic Bilbao at San Mames as the had claimed just one win from their last four home matches. They have suffered two defeats in that run and were beaten 3-2 by Girona in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
Barcelona continue to capitalise on Real Madrid’s recent stumbles and are now nine points clear at the top of the La Liga standings. With no European distractions for the rest of the season, they can fully focus on ending their three-year wait for the La Liga title.
The Catalans have looked almost unstoppable in La Liga this season and have lost just once in their last 15 matches. They have claimed 13 wins in that run and picked up a 1-0 victory over Valencia in their previous fixture with Raphinha getting the only goal.
Although they were beaten 1-0 by Almeria last time out on their travels, Barcelona still boast one of the best away records in La Liga this season. Xavi’s men had claimed six straight wins on the road prior to that defeat, keeping four clean sheets in that run.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 6/5 by Coral to claim the win. Athletic Bilbao are outsiders at home at 45/17 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 23/19 by bet365.
Head to head
Barcelona have a 48-13 advantage with 15 draws from 36 previous matches against Athletic Bilbao. The Catalans have also been victorious in the last two meetings and ran out 4-0 winners in the reverse fixture back in October.
Players to watch
Barcelona are set to welcome back La Liga top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who missed the win over Valencia with a hamstring problem. The striker has 15 goals this season and having also found the net in the reverse fixture, could be backed to score anytime on Sunday at 27/20 with Unibet.
The Catalans have one of the best defensive records in La Liga with the likes of Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen impressing. Both men could lead the visitors to a third straight clean sheet against Athletic Bilbao at 33/20 with Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona have won to nil in the last two matches with Athletic Bilbao and could be set for a repeat at 13/5 with BetVictor. With both meetings ending 4-0, the Catalans could also be tipped in the -1 handicap market at 10/3 with Paddy Power.
The Catalans also scored in both halves in the last two meetings with Bilbao and Sunday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 11/4 with bet365.
This La Liga match between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona will be played on Mar 12, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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