Prediction: Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao

Verdict: Lionel Messi to score two or more goals

Best odds: 2

Bookmaker: Betfair

Barcelona will be welcoming Athletic Bilbao to their stadium of Camp Nou on Sunday in what will be the 20th La Liga game of the season for either team. It should be a good match, between a strong team led by the world’s arguably best player in search of the old ways of glory, and a revitalized, extremely tricky opponent known to cause them misery on occasion.

In fact, these two teams met in the final of the Supercopa de Espana two weeks ago, and Bilbao emerged triumphant after extra-time which ended with Lionel Messi being sent off for the first time in his club career. They also met 11 days prior to that in the league, in Bilbao, when Barcelona won by the same scoreline (2-3).

Barcelona

The Catalan club are nowhere near the heights they were reaching on a regular basis until a year or two ago. The results have gradually dropped; they lost the league title to arch-rivals Real Madrid at the end of last season, and they haven’t won the Champions League since 2015, when the famous trio of Messi-Suarez-Neymar used to terrorize opposition defences. To some clubs that might not seem so bad, but for the standards expected at Barcelona, it’s obviously not good enough.

The club are going through an extremely difficult phase off the pitch as well. Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned from the role of president a few months back, and the elections to fill the role haven’t been completed yet due to the Covid-19 situation. They are reportedly very close to bankruptcy, and to top it all off, they’re still sweating over the future of Messi, whose contract expires at the end of the season and who already had his heart set on leaving last summer.

On the pitch, things don’t look quite as bad as that right now, though they could be better. Barcelona are third in the La Liga table, whole 10 points behind Atletico Madrid who have a game in hand on them too, and three points behind second-place Real. As for their league form, Barcelona won five of their last six matches, beating Valladolid away 0-3, Huesca away 0-1, Bilbao away 2-3, Granada away 0-4, and Elche away 0-2. Their only home game in that period was a disappointing 1-1 draw against Eibar in their final match of 2020.

In the Champions League, the Blaugrana finished second to Juventus in Group G, with Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros staying behind. The clash with Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain awaits in the round of 16.

Team News

Sergio Busquets is forced to give this game a miss through suspension, which means Miralem Pjanic could be handed a rare start in the middle of the park. Winger Ansu Fati, defender Gerard Pique and midfielder Philippe Coutinho are out due to injuries, but Sergi Roberto could make the squad following his return to team training after a muscle issue.

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, fullbacks Sergino Dest and Jordi Alba, as well as forward Ousmane Dembele, are likely to be named to start after missing out on the lineup in the Copa del Rey win over Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday. Antoine Griezmann will probably keep his place next to Messi upfront.

Athletic Bilbao

This season hasn’t exactly been an unqualified success as far as Athletic Bilbao’s exploits in the Spanish top flight are concerned, but they’ve already won a trophy – the Super Cup, and lately their results have improved a lot. Their last six league results consist of a 2-0 win over Huesca at home, a 1-1 draw away to Villarreal, a 0-1 defeat at home to Real Sociedad, a 1-0 win at home against Elche, the already mentioned 2-3 defeat at home to Barcelona, and a 5-1 thrashing of Getafe at home.

At the moment, Bilbao are in ninth place with 24 points, three less than Betis in eighth, and the same as Celta Vigo and Cadiz in 10th and 11th, respectively. They won’t be fighting for the title, of course, but a place in the top six is certainly not out of the question if they achieve some consistency in winning over the coming months.

Team News

Bilbao beat third-tier side CD Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, and having left out midfielders Raul Garcia and Dani Garcia, as well as winger Iker Muniain, coach Marcelino is likely to put these players back in the lineup at the Camp Nou.

Midfielder Peru Nolaskoain is injured, while defenders Inigo Martinez and Mikel Balenziaga are doubts.

Conclusion

With two important games between these teams already played this month with opposite outcomes, it’s very hard to say which one will emerge victorious this time. There might well be no winner this time around, too, but given Messi’s red card in the Supercoppa clash, it’s highly likely the six-time Ballon d’Or winner will have a score of his own to settle.

Verdict: Lionel Messi to score two or more goals

Best odds: 2

Bookmaker: Betfair