Fresh from losing the Supercopa de Espana final to Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao welcome Barcelona to San Mames on Thursday in the Copa del Rey round of 16.
Just four points separate the two sides in the La Liga table, with ninth-place Bilbao trailing sixth-place Barcelona. It is worth noting that Xavi’s side have a game in hand, too.
🔊 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕆𝕟 🔊 pic.twitter.com/8OLdKrdgXe— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 18, 2022
🔊 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕆𝕟 🔊 pic.twitter.com/8OLdKrdgXe
Last week, Athletic Bilbao beat Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final before going down 2-0 to Real Madrid in the final.
That means Bilbao have lost just one of their previous five games in all competitions, picking up three wins and a draw along the way.
When it comes to the Copa del Rey, Athletic have only managed to win one of their last six matches in this competition.
That victory came earlier this month when they saw off lower-league Atletico Mancha Real in the round of 32.
Athletic Bilbao have established themselves as draw specialists this season, having drawn ten of their 21 La Liga matches in 2021-22.
They also boast the second-best defensive record in the Spanish top flight, having conceded 17 goals. Only Sevilla have conceded fewer goals this season.
On the flip side, Barcelona also competed in the Supercopa de Espana last week but were beaten 3-2 by Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
That means they have won just one of their last three games in all competitions, with a 2-1 victory coming against Linares Deportivo in the Copa del Rey round of 32.
Barca have only managed to win eight of their 20 La Liga clash this season, picking up eight draws and four losses in the process.
They are currently enjoying a five-game unbeaten streak in La Liga, having recorded two wins and three draws since their last loss.
Head-to-head: Barcelona have recorded four wins and two draws in their past six meetings with Bilbao across all competitions.
In the Copa del Rey, Barcelona have avoided defeat in nine of their previous 11 encounters with Athletic Bilbao.
Team news: Athletic will be without the injured trio of Asier Villalibre, Unai Nunez and Unai Vencedor on Thursday.
Barcelona’s extensive injury list contains Martin Braithwaite, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti, Eric Garcia and Moussa Wague.
Since four of the past five meetings between Athletico and Barca have produced over 2.5 goals, a high-scoring clash is expected on Thursday.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that both teams will score over 1.5 goals. In terms of the result, a draw is the most probable outcome.