Barcelona look for for their next league win as they welcome Athletic Bilbao, along with a familiar face, to Camp Nou.
Barcelona were able to shake off last week's disappointments when they sunk the Yellow Submarines in the first 45 minutes. Goals from Lewandowski( x2) and Fati were enough to secure a 3-0 victory against Unai Emery's men. Now they face another stern, if not sterner test against Athletic Club.
The folks from Basque country are under the tutelage of former Barcelona coach, Ernesto Valverde, someone who knows the Camp Nou quite well. They began their season well enough, scoring freely and hardly conceding, although a few mixed results have followed, slowing their momentum a bit. They will however come to Barcelona with the notion that they can cause an upset, regardless of what previous statistics say.
INTERESTING STATS
In the last three years, Athletic have knocked Barça out of the Copa del Rey twice and also the Spanish Super Cup once. But despite those slips in cup competitions, the Catalans have remained solid in the league, losing just one of their last 17 meetings with the Basques.
Last five La Liga meetings
27/02/22: Barça 4-0 Athletic
21/08/21: Athletic 1-1 Barça
31/01/21: Barça 2-1 Athletic
06/01/21: Athletic 2-3 Barça
23/06/20: Barça 1-0 Athletic
TEAM NEWS
Barcelona
The injury list is being trimmed gradually, only Araujo, Christensen and Depay remaining sidelined, although the Dane and the Dutch are much closer to being back in action than the Uruguayan. Everyone else is fit for this game.
Even though Xavi's rotation last time out yielded dividends, he claimed that more changes will be seen in this game.
Points of interest will be Kounde's partner at Centre Back, along with the Left Back. Keeping the Williams' brothers in mind, Xavi can't afford to get this wrong. Whether or not Busquets, Raphinha and Dembele come back to the XI is eagerly debated by fans. One thing's for sure: whoever plays has to be on top of their game.
Athletic Club
Ander Capa and Jon Morcillo will be on the sidelines for Athletic Club due to their respective injuries. Valverde has on otherwise fit squad for this clash.
The Williams brothers are sure to start in attack, alongside possibly Munain, who can drop to midfield in a 442 formation. Sancet, Berengeur, Hererra round up the midfield.
Barça target Inigo Martinez will surely start in CB position. Who partners up with him remains to be seen. Lekue and Dimarcos will be the FBs. National Team keeper Unai Simon will start between the sticks.
Where and when are Barcelona vs Athletic playing?
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Stadium: Spotify Camp Nou
Date: Sunday 23 October
Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 EST / 12:00 PST
VAR: Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez
Referee: Juan Martinez Munuera
CONCLUSION
Athletic Club have had their best start to the season in years and have the artillery to cause their hosts a number of problems. Ernesto Valverde surely will have an agenda in mind as he visits the place he once called home.
Barcelona however, have the superior quality on paper, and while that might not be enough sometimes, the Catalans will know the essence of all 3 points and will not want to lose such a game in front of their fans. If they replicate their hunger against Villarreal, they should be able to see off the Basque side with ease.
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