Barcelona - Athletic Club Bilbao predictions and free betting tips [22/10/2023]

On Sunday, 22nd October as part of the 10th round of the Spanish La Liga, "Barcelona" will host "Athletic Bilbao". The Catalan team sits third in the La Liga table having accumulated 21 points from nine matches, and "Athletic" - fifth with 19 points under their belt.

Predicted Line-ups

"Barcelona": Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Christensen, Araujo, Balde; Gundogan, Romeu, Gavi; Yamal, F Torres, Felix.
"Athletic": Simon; De Marcos, Paredes, Vivian, Berchiche; Herrera, D Garcia; I Williams, Sancet, Muniain; Guruzeta.

Stadium

The clash will go down in Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium.

"Barcelona"

"Barcelona", after not commencing the season brilliantly, has now found some footing: draws recorded against "Mallorca" (2:2) and "Granada" (2:2) before the break for international fixtures, where the reigning champions trailed by two goals, before Lamin Jamal and Sergi Roberto restored parity on the scoreboard. Victories against "Celta Vigo" (3:2) and "Sevilla" (1:0) were not very convincing, regardless, "Blaugrana" hasn't suffered a defeat in any competition (including the Champions League). As it stands, the visitors are fourth in the table after "Girona", "Real Madrid", and "Atletico" although they have a game in hand. "Barca" has notably started their Champions League campaign with two group stage victories against "Antwerp" (5:0) and "Porto" (0:1). 

Soon, the Catalans will face off against "Shakhtar" in Hamburg, and El Clasico with "Real Madrid" will be on 28th October. Frankie de Jong, Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kunde, Sergi Roberto and Brazilian winger Rafinha have all picked up injuries. Experienced right back, Sergi Roberto, is also out. On the flip side, playmaker Pedri returns this Sunday, and Jamal and Balde are fully fit and ready for the clash with the Basques. We can certainly expect Ferran Torres (3 goals in La Liga), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid, loan) to start, with Gundogan and Gavi holding the midfield. Oriol Romeu will appear in the holding mid area, and Cancelo will take up the right flank in defence.

"Athletic"

"Athletic Bilbao" kicked off La Liga well, their current fifth position is fully justified. The only two defeats for the Basques came against "Real Madrid" in the opening round (0:2) and "Real Sociedad" in the derby (3:0). Just before the international break, Ernesto Valverde's pupils bagged their fifth victory against "Almeria" at home (3:0). The visitors trail third-placed "Girona" by only four points and have collected seven points from four away matches this season, which should provide some confidence against the giants. In the past two campaigns, "Athletic" finished eighth but were fourth in the 2013-14 season, so the "Lions'" goal is at least to finish within the European places. 

Head-to-Head Records

"Barcelona" has won each of the last three La Liga matches against "Athletic", and since August 2019, has not lost to the Basques in the league. Last season, the Blaugrana prevailed 0:1 and 4:0.

Match Forecast "Barcelona" - "Athletic"

Days before a Champions League match against "Shakhtar", "Barcelona" needs to boost their confidence; however, injuries could negatively impact the team's discipline. "Athletic" looks like a genuine contender for a European place in this campaign and can give Xavi's men a run for their money. My prediction – an Asian Handicap of 1.5 for the visitors.

Total Forecast 

"Athletic" has netted 16 goals in 9 rounds and is certainly capable of upsetting Ter Stegen at least once, considering the injuries to Kunde and Roberto. I'm backing the visitor's over 0.5 individual total.

Corner Forecast 

"Barcelona" will hold the initiative for the lion's share of the game and win according to all significant metrics, including corners – Asian Handicap -1.5.

Yellow Cards Forecast 

"Athletic", under Valverde, employs a small foul tactic and tends to rack up an average of 3 cautions per 90 minutes. I'm backing the visitors' over 2.5 individual total for cards.

Score Forecast

I'm predicting a precise score of 1:1.