Barcelona will stay at the Nou Camp for a second game on the spin as they welcome Athletic Club to their own backyard not long after hammering Villarreal 3-0 and losing to Real Madrid away from home with the club still sitting second in La Liga.
Although the loss to the champions and league leaders was a damaging one, Barcelona still are in second and are behind Real by just the three points that were forfeited in that El Clasico 3-1 loss.
A 3-0 win over Villarreal at Spotify Camp Nou!#LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/hNaWlSLIkW— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 21, 2022
A 3-0 win over Villarreal at Spotify Camp Nou!#LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/hNaWlSLIkW
In fact, with eight wins from 10 games already for the Spanish giants, they sit with the best defensive record across Europe's top five leagues with a stunning four goals conceded.
In fact, given how they let in three goals in that loss to Real, it means Barcelona have actually only conceded a goal in two of the 10 games so far, keeping an incredible eight clean sheets along the way.
Barcelona bounced back immediately after the loss to Real with a 3-0 victory against Villarreal. Robert Lewandowski was the star man once again that day, as his two goals meant he has now scored 11 in his debut season in La Liga.
And, with an extra five in the Champions League, the former Bayern Munich star has now scored 16 times in 14 games already for his new club and is the top scorer in La Liga and sits six goals above the recent Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema.
In fact, alongside his goals, Barcelona are now sitting seven points ahead of sixth-placed Athletic Club ahead of this meeting at the Nou Camp, having scored 24 goals and just one less than Real's 25 at the top of La Liga.
Despite the brilliance of the two El Clasico sides at the top of the division, this cannot overlook what has been one of Bilbao's best starts to a season in recent times.
They are currently sixth, but they have failed to win any of their past three games since beating Almeria 4-0 at the end of September. It does now mean a winless run for them in October.
The club drew 1-1 with Sevilla at the start of the month, before a visit of Atletico Madrid was met with a 1-0 loss.
Getafe then drew 2-2 with them in the league, but Athletic Club have still got a fantastic defensive record of only eight goals let in from 10 games.
Forebet predicts a win for Barcelona and over 2.5 goals in the game.