Barcelona head into Friday night’s La Liga opener looking for redemption. The Blaugrana won La Liga last season, but their failures in the Champions League and Copa del Rey overshadowed that trophy.
On Friday night, Barcelona will travel north to the Basque Country to play rivals Athletic Bilbao. The Lions finished eighth last season, narrowly missing out on Europa League qualification.
👋 Bilbao#AthleticBarça pic.twitter.com/u2qaQ0OxJU— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 16, 2019
👋 Bilbao#AthleticBarça pic.twitter.com/u2qaQ0OxJU
Athletic Bilbao manager Gaizka Garitano should go into the first match of the season full of confidence. The Lions took two points from six last season against Barcelona as both matches ended in draws.
Their first encounter at Camp Nou finished 1-1 after Athletic Bilbao took a 41st minute lead thanks to Oscar de Marcos. Barcelona levelled the score in the 84th minute through Munir El Haddadi.
The first match between the teams saw Barcelona off colour. It wasn’t until Lionel Messi’s introduction in the 55th minute that Barcelona improved.
Even with Messi in the starting XI for their second meeting of the season, Barcelona couldn’t defeat Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. Athletic Bilbao held on for a nil-nil draw as Barcelona laboured away from home.
Barcelona are undefeated against Athletic Bilbao in their last six matches in all competitions. Four of those matches ended in Blaugrana wins.
Reports in Spain indicate Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde will not start Messi on Friday night. In fact, the Argentina is unlikely to play in the match. Messi did not play during Barcelona’s preseason nor is his fitness match ready.
There is no reason for Valverde to risk Messi because, as football fans have seen the last two seasons, Barcelona’s performances are dictated by Messi. The Argentine has been struggling with an injury and will be given time to recover before playing.
Even without Messi, Barcelona have Luis Suarez and new signing Antoine Griezmann. One of the big questions is will Valverde give playing time to Philippe Coutinho as Barcelona attempt to offload him? The Neymar saga just won’t go away and it could end up overshadowing Barcelona’s season.
Athletic Bilbao had a successful preseason going unbeaten in seven of eight friendlies. The Lions will have their hands full in the first match of the season and should struggle at home.
Although last season saw two low-scoring matches, Friday’s fixture will feature two teams who want to lay down a marker for the new term. Expect over 2.5 goals scored as both teams get on the score sheet. Even without Messi, Barcelona will be too strong for their rivals as they pick up a win.