Today brings a fresh challenge for Xavi Hernandez’s team in the away trip to the Basque Country to take on Athletic Club.
The team coached by former Barcelona player and coach Ernesto Valverde is on a high at the moment after breezing past Atletico Madrid to book their place in next month’s Copa del Rey final.
FC Barcelona have hit the ground running in La Liga, grabbing 13 of the last 15 points at stake, and have yet to lose a single game on the road. Currently, they’re third in the league and eight points adrift of the league leader.
Athletic Bilbao, on the other hand, have been predicted to be in the UEFA Champions League next season due to their great performance so far this season.
Their form at San Mamรฉs has been especially strong, where they haven’t lost since being toppled by Real Madrid on the opening day. They are on a run of seven straight wins and sitting pretty well at number five on the league table.
Looking at Barca and Athletic Club forms, you can tell that there’s a competitive balance. Both clubs are evenly matched, and the game itself is highly disputed.
Also, the managers, Xavi Hernandez and Ernesto Valverde, are both products of La Masia, so there’s a guarantee of crisp, creative, accurate passing with a steady flow and rhythm.
Just like what we saw in the Copa Del Rey match between both clubs, this game will be equally dramatic, riveting enough to send the casual fan on an emotional roller coaster ride.
The task is to grab all three points to remain in the hunt for the league title, especially for Xavi’s men, who are just nine points behind the league leader, Real Madrid. If FC Barcelona wins in San Mamรฉs, the gap will be cut down to six points.
Athletic Club missed out on a place in Europe this season, so they’ll be hunting to be there next season. They could even be in the Champions League, with just three points separating them from third-placed Atlรฉtico Madrid.
As you can see, there’s much in the bag for both teams in this encounter. Expect the managers to deploy every tactic therein to grab maximum points today.
Squad News:
For the challenge, coach Xavi has named the following players:
Ter Stegen, Joรฃo Cancelo, R. Araujo, I. Martinez, Pedri, Lewandowski, Raphinha, Iรฑaki Peรฑa, Joรฃo Fรฉlix, Christensen, Fermรญn, Romeu, Vitor Roque, S. Roberto, F. De Jong, Gรผndoฤan, Kounde, Lamine Yamal, Kochen, Cubarsรญ, Marc Guiu and H. Fort. Still out due to injury are Marcos Alonso, Balde, Gavi, and Ferran.
Athletics have some important absentees of their own. Central midfielder Ander Herrera and left back Yuri Berchiche are both out with hamstring injuries, while both center back Dani Vivian and, perhaps most importantly of all, forward Nico Williams both sit this game out through suspension.
Last Ten Meetings:
24/01/24 (COPA) Athletic 4-2 Barรงa
22/10/23 (LIGA) Barรงa 1-0 Athletic
12/03/23 (LIGA) Athletic 0-1 Barรงa
23/10/22 (LIGA) Barรงa 4-0 Athletic
27/02/22 (LIGA) Barรงa 4-0 Athletic
20/01/22 (COPA DEL REY) Athletic 3-2 Barรงa
21/08/21 (LIGA): Athletic 1-1 Barรงa
17/04/21 (COPA DEL REY): Athletic 0-4 Barรงa
31/01/21 (LIGA): Barรงa 2-1 Athletic
17/01/21 (SPANISH SUPER CUP): Barรงa 2-3 Athletic.
Athletic Club Boss:
Ernesto Valverde is a familiar face at Barรงa. He played for Barรงa from 1988โ1991 and then returned as manager from 2017โ2020, guiding the club to two Liga titles and one Copa del Rey. This is his third stint as boss of Athletic, for whom he made 170 appearances in his playing days.
Valverde has also managed Espanyol, Valencia, and Villarreal in Spain, as well as Olympiacos, with whom he won three Greek league championships.
