La Liga – Athletic Club vs Barcelona Odds
Barcelona Coming off Big Win
Athletic Club Qualify for Copa del Rey Final
Barcelona grabbed their biggest win since September as they took down Getafe 4-0 last Saturday. This season hasn’t lived up to expectations for Barcelona but they still have an outside shot of repeating as champions. To make that happen, they’ll be looking for all three points on Sunday when they head to Bilbao to take on Athletic Club, who just qualified for the Copa del Rey final. Athletic Club have Champions League dreams of their own and this should be a highly competitive matchup. We’ll cover the Athletic Club vs Barcelona odds ahead of Sunday’s La Liga match.
Athletic Club vs Barcelona
Date, time:
Location: San Mames, Bilbao, Spain
Athletic Club vs Barcelona Head-to-Head
Heading into this one, Barcelona haven’t lost any of their last 12 90-minute matches vs. Athletic Club. However, Barça did fall 4-2 in extra time to Athletic Club in January in the Copa del Rey Quarter-Final. The Williams brothers, Nico and Iñaki, scored for Bilbao in extra time. Barcelona have won the last four meetings on the La Liga schedule and Bilbao have failed to score in each one.
Athletic Club Bounce Back in Impressive Fashion
Following a galvanizing 3-2 win over Girona, which boosted their Champions League hopes, Athletic Club fell 3-1 to Real Betis last Sunday. To make matters worse, Nico Williams picked up two yellow cards in the match, and he will miss the clash with Barcelona. Defender Daniel Vivian will also serve a one-match ban vs. Barcelona, which puts Bilbao in a tough spot. Williams has scored three goals and provided six La Liga assists, while Vivian has started 24 games this season.
Still, Athletic Club haven’t lost a La Liga match at home since the first Matchday of the season, vs. Real Madrid. Since then, they’ve gone 10-2-0 at home and have won their last seven at the San Mames in La Liga. On Thursday, Athletic Club put their loss to Betis behind them and beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the second leg of the Copa del Rey Semifinal. The Williams brothers, Iñaki and Nico, scored and assisted each other, and Gorka Guruzeta scored on a rebound. Overall, Athletic Club won 4-0 on aggregate.
Guruzeta also scored a consolation goal last weekend at Betis and he’s Bilbao’s leading scorer, with 10 La Liga goals. Iñaki has scored nine times as well. Bilbao look to have a relatively clean bill of health. Only Yuri Berchiche and Ander Herrera are out injured. Currently, the Athletic Club vs Barcelona odds price Bilbao as +185 underdogs despite their excellent home form.
Christensen Experiment Working for Barcelona
Xavi has experimented with Andreas Christensen in central midfield over the last few weeks and it seems to be working. Christensen provided an assist for Joao Felix in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over Getafe last Saturday. Raphinha, Frenkie De Jong and Fermin Lopes also got on the scoresheet in the victory. The Barcelona standings show that FCB are in third place in La Liga but they’re just two points behind second-placed Girona. Barcelona have been mostly counted out of the title race but they’re only eight points behind leaders Real Madrid. At the moment, the La Liga odds price Barcelona as +2000 longshots to repeat as champions.
If Barcelona have any hope of repeating, they have very little margin for error from here on out. April’s match at Real Madrid is a massive one but they have tough games at Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid before that. Since losing 5-3 vs. Villarreal in January, Barça are 4-1-0 in La Liga and they’ve scored 13 times in their last four matches.
Bettors should note that Barcelona still haven’t lost on the road in La Liga this season. They head into Sunday’s match with a 7-5-0 away record. While Gavi and Alex Balde are out for the season, Marcos Alonso should return in a few weeks and forward Ferran Torres is doubtful. Barcelona will hope to continue their goalscoring form here, as they found it exceedingly easy to break down the Getafe defense last weekend.
Athletic Club vs Barcelona Match Analysis & Odds
Yes, Athletic Club did play on Thursday, which could tire them out a bit on Sunday vs. Barcelona. However, they’ve always got a shot to win at home and they’ve won their last nine at the San Mames, in all competitions. However, the latest Athletic Club vs Barcelona odds price Bilbao as +185 underdogs. Barcelona are unbeaten in their last three matches at the San Mames in La Liga and are +145 favorites.
A draw wouldn’t come as a huge surprise and bettors can take one at +255 odds. After all, Barcelona are the only team to manage a 90-minute draw at the San Mames in the last four months. Athletic Club pk, +0.5 at -130 odds could be a popular pick for Sunday’s match but it will hurt Bilbao having Nico Williams on the sidelines.
Barcelona pk, -0.5 also shows +110 odds and the Catalan club are on a five game unbeaten run in La Liga. Both over and under 2.5, 3 goals are priced at -110 odds. Athletic Club have kept five clean sheets in their last seven matches overall but they haven’t shut out Barcelona in any of the last 12 meetings.
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