La Liga,
Round 1
Barcelona
BAR
Athletic Club
BIL
-
Venue
- Camp Nou
Barcelona v Athletic Club preview
Barcelona will look to make it two wins from two at the start of their La Liga title defence when Athletic Bilbao visit the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday evening.
Hansi Flick’s side opened the campaign with a 5-0 win at Elche, while Athletic Bilbao suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Sevilla in Edin Terzic’s first competitive match in charge.
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.
The recent head-to-head record offers Terzic little encouragement either. Athletic have scored just once across their last six meetings with Barcelona, all of which ended in defeat for the Basque side.
Barcelona scored 17 goals across those six victories, including a 5-0 win in the Spanish Super Cup and a 4-0 La Liga victory last season.
The most recent meeting ended in a 1-0 Barcelona win at San Mames in March.
Barcelona v Athletic Club team news
Barcelona could hand Rodri his debut after the midfielder returned to training following a minor back operation.
Frenkie de Jong remains sidelined with a knee ligament injury, while Gavi is expected to return to contention soon after suffering a knee bruise during the win over Elche.
Athletic will be without Unai Eguiluz, Daniel Vivian and Nico Serrano due to injury, while Berchiche is suspended following his red card against Sevilla.
Unai Simon will be looking to bounce back after conceding three goals against Sevilla.
Aymeric Laporte and Nico Williams both appeared from the bench in the defeat, and Williams could return to the starting XI for Thursday’s fixture. His pace could provide Athletic with an important outlet on the counter-attack.
Barcelona v Athletic Club expected line-ups
Barcelona: Garcia; Espart, Cubarsi, Garcia, Martin; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Lopez, Raphinha, Adeyemi.
Athletic Bilbao: Simon; Boiro, Paredes, Alvarez, Areso; Canales, Gerenabarrena; Berenguer, Sancet, N. Williams; Guruzeta.
ℹ️ Official lineups are not available yet. They are usually announced 20–40 minutes before kickoff, depending on the competition.
Barcelona v Athletic Club stats, recent form
- Barcelona have won their last six meetings with Athletic Bilbao, who have scored one goal across those six defeats and conceded a total of 17
- The reigning champions have clean sheets in 10 of the last 12 editions of the fixture in all competitions, including each of the last five
- That 15-match unbeaten home run in the fixture in La Liga has lasted since a 2-1 defeat in November 2001
- Fermin Lopez had scored once in each of the two previous editions of the contest before Lamine Yamal scored the only goal in Barca’s 1-0 away win in March
- Barca all-time top scorer Lionel Messi is the top scorer in the history of the fixture (29), immediately ahead of Athletic Club’s Telmo Zarra (20)
- With a perfect home record in the 2025/26 Liga, Barca accumulated eight more points, scored nine more goals and conceded six fewer than any other teams on their own turf
- Athletic Club are winless in 13 against Barca in La Liga, last triumphing with a 1-0 home win courtesy of Aritz Aduriz’s 89th-minute goal in August 2019
- Oihan Sancet is the only visiting player to have scored for Athletic Club at Barcelona in La Liga since September 2018, netting in a 2-1 defeat in August 2024
- Elche (8) and Osasuna (10) were the only teams to take fewer away points than Athletic Club (15) in last season’s La Liga without suffering relegation
- With 37 goals conceded on the road in the 2025/26 top flight, Athletic Club had the worst record in that respect of any team not to go down except Elche (38)
Where to Watch Barcelona v Athletic Club: TV and online streams
Kick-off on Thursday is at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Premier Sports 2 and streaming available on a vast range of devices via the Premier Sports app.
A Premier Sports subscription costs £120 a year, £11.99 per month on a 12-month contract or £16.99 per month with 30 days’ cancellation notice required.
Barcelona v Athletic Club prediction
Match Prediction
Barcelona
Athletic Club
After a tough start for Athletic Club, things will not get any better for them against the Spanish champions. Barcelona should ease to victory in their first home game of the season.
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