Barcelona continue their pursuit of leaders Real Madrid as they host Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday. The hosts have been in good form at home and should be too strong for Bilbao, who have looked slightly off colour in recent weeks.
Barcelona successfully bounced back from their El Clasico disappointment as they claimed a 3-0 victory over Villarreal in their midweek La Liga fixture. Robert Lewandowski netted a first half brace while Ansu Fati was also on target.
Although Barcelona are now playing catch-up to Real Madrid, manager Xavi has plenty of reasons to be pleased with his team’s campaign so far. They have suffered just the one defeat in La Liga this term and are only three points of the pace.
Another pleasing aspect of Barcelona’s campaign this season is their impressive record at Camp Nou. They have won four of their last five home matches and are yet to concede a single goal in front of their fans this term.
While Athletic Bilbao are not hitting the heights of Barcelona, they can also be pleased with their campaign so far. They have lost just twice this season and are currently occupying one of the European places.
However, things have gone slightly bad for Athletic Bilbao in recent weeks as they are without a win in their last three matches. They were held to a 2-2 draw at Getafe in midweek, twice throwing away leads from Inaki Williams and Raul Garcia.
One thing that could give Athletic Bilbao some confidence heading to Camp Nou is their record on the road this season. Ernesto Valverde’s men are unbeaten on their travels this season, claiming two wins and as many draws from four away matches.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 11/20 by bet365 to claim the win. A victory for Athletic Bilbao is valued at 9/2 by William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 17/5 by Paddy Power.
Head to head
Barcelona have a 47-13 advantage with 15 draws from 75 previous matches with Athletic Bilbao. The Catalans claimed a 4-0 victory in the last meeting at Camp Nou back in February.
Players to watch
Robert Lewandowski’s brace on Thursday took his tally for the season to nine La Liga goals and he will once again be the one to watch for Barcelona. The striker is priced at 5/6 by bet365 to score anytime on Sunday.
While Lewandowski is delivering the goods in attack, the likes of Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia have also been impressive at the back. Both men can guide the Catalans to a sixth consecutive clean sheet at home at 6/4 with BoyleSports.
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona have won to nil in their last four home matches in La Liga and could be set for a similar result at 39/20 by Unibet. Having earned a comfortable victory the last time they faced Athletic at Camp Nou, the Catalans could be tipped in the -1 handicap market at 6/4 with William Hill.
Barcelona have also won both halves in three of their last four home matches in La Liga and could be set for a repeat at 3/1 by Unibet.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao will be played on Oct 23, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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