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- Camp Nou
Summary of the Barcelona and Athletic Club match
Barcelona will be looking to make it two wins from two games as they begin their La Liga title defense when Athletic Bilbao visit the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday evening.
Hansi Flick’s team opened the campaign with 5-0 win over ElcheWhile Athletic Bilbao suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Sevilla in coach Edin Terzic’s first official match.
Flick’s side also have an excellent record against Athletic at home, having avoided defeat in their last 15 La Liga meetings with the Basque club at Camp Nou.
Recent head-to-head record offers a bit of encouragement for Terzic as well. Athletic have scored just one goal in their last six meetings with Barcelona, all of which ended in defeat for the Basque side.
Barcelona scored 17 goals in those six victories, including a 5-0 win in the Spanish Super Cup and a 4-0 win in the Spanish League last season.
The last match ended with a 1-0 victory for Barcelona in San Mames last March.
Barcelona vs Athletic Club news
Barcelona could give Rodri his first start after the midfielder returned to training following minor back surgery.
Frenkie de Jong is still sidelined due to a knee ligament injury, while Javi is expected to return to competition soon after suffering a knee bruise during the win over Elche.
Athletic Bilbao will be without Unai Eguiloz, Daniel Vivian and Nico Serrano due to injury, while Berchich has been suspended due to the red card he received against Sevilla.
Unai Simon will be looking to bounce back after conceding three goals against Sevilla.
Aymeric Laporte and Neco Williams both came off the bench in the defeat, and Williams could return to the starting lineup for Thursday’s game. His speed can provide Athletic with an important outlet on the counter-attack.
The expected lineup for the match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao
Barcelona: Garcia. Espart, Coparci, Garcia, Martin; Bernal, Pedri. Yamal, Lopez, Rafinha, Adeyemi.
Athletic Bilbao: Simon; Boero, Paredes, Alvarez, Arisu; Canalis of Jerinabar. Beringer, Sunset, n. Williams; cross
ℹ️ Official lineups are not yet available. It is usually announced 20 to 40 minutes before kick-off, depending on the competition.
Barcelona and Athletic Club match statistics, latest format
- Barcelona have won their last six meetings with Athletic Bilbao, who have scored one goal in those six defeats and conceded a total of 17 goals.
- The defending champions have kept clean sheets in 10 of the last 12 editions of the match in all competitions, including each of the last five editions.
- This 15-match unbeaten run at home in La Liga has continued since a 2-1 defeat in November 2001.
- Fermin Lopez scored one goal in each of the previous two editions of the competition before Lamine Yamal scored the only goal in Barcelona’s 1-0 away win in March.
- Barcelona’s all-time top scorer Lionel Messi is the all-time top scorer (29), just ahead of Athletic Club’s Telmo Zarra (20).
- With a perfect home record in La Liga 2025/26, Barcelona have collected eight more points, scored nine more goals and conceded six fewer goals than any other team at home.
- Athletic Club are winless in 13 matches against Barcelona in La Liga, with their last victory being a 1-0 win at home thanks to an 89th-minute goal by Aritz Aduriz in August 2019.
- Oyhan Sunset is the only visiting player to score for Barcelona’s Athletic Bilbao in La Liga since September 2018, netting in a 2-1 defeat in August 2024.
- Elche (8) and Osasuna (10) were the only two teams to have fewer points away from home than Athletic Club (15) in La Liga last season without suffering relegation.
- With 37 away goals conceded in the 2025/26 Primera Division, Athletic Club had the worst record in this regard of any non-fallen team apart from Elche (38).
Where to watch Barcelona vs Athletic Club: TV and online broadcast
The match will kick off on Thursday at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Premier Sports 2 and streaming available on a wide range of devices via the Premier Sports app.
A Premier Sports subscription The cost is £120 per year, £11.99 per month on a 12-month contract, or £16.99 per month with 30 days’ cancellation notice required.
Predictions for the Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao match
Barcelona
3 – 0
sports club
After a difficult start for Athletic Bilbao, things will not get better for them against the Spanish champions. Barcelona is supposed to win easily in its first home match this season.
