Barcelona is hosting Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou in round 26 of the Spanish LaLiga. Barcelona has been outstanding in their last few games, they have been impressive in the attacking end, but now they need to keep it up. Bilbao has also been playing well as of late, they have been also scoring a lot of goals, and they are playing in the Copa del Rey semifinals.
With better form, comes the results, and that is what is happening to Barcelona. With the addition of Aubameyang and Adama Traore, and Ferran Torres for that matter as well, this Barcelona has gained some offensive versatility, they have become more aggressive, and it suits them. The next thing Barcelona has to fix is their defense, and they need to do it fast. Barcelona has knocked Napoli out of the Europa League earlier this week, while they destroyed Valencia in their last LaLiga game. In the next stage of the Europa League, Barcelona will play against Galatasaray, and that is a totally winnable matchup for them. In LaLiga, Barcelona is now in 5th place, but they have a game less than Atletico Madrid. Since he arrived at the club, Aubameyang has scored 3 goals in 3 LaLiga games, while he also scored in the Europa League. Over the next couple of weeks, Barcelona has to focus on LaLiga, and they need to stay in good form, and I think they will.
As I’ve mentioned, Bilbao is in great form, they have 5 wins in their last 7 games, and they will be playing against Valencia in their Copa del Rey semifinals matchup. In LaLiga, Bilbao is also doing really well, and they are now in 8th place with one of the best defenses in the league. Bilbao has conceded only 21 goals so far, while they scored 29 goals, which is not a lot, but it seems to be enough. Williams is the only injured player for Bilbao, while Berenguer is suspended because of the yellow cards. Sancet and Inaki Williams are the leading goalscorers for Bilbao with 6 goals each, while Muniain has added 7 assists. I know that Bilbao is playing well, and they have had success against Barcelona, but Barcelona is now in great form. I think Bilbao is a tough team to beat, as their defense shows, but the lack of goals could be a problem for them.
Barcelona has dominated this matchup, but Bilbao has had some success against them, most recently in Copa del Rey. I honestly expect goals here, but I also can’t see Bilbao getting the win here with Barcelona in their current form, and on the road.