Preview: Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will be aiming to make it three straight wins in Spain's top flight when they continue their campaign away to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday evening.

Hansi Flick's side are top of the La Liga table, four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, while Athletic are ninth, five points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo.

Match preview

Athletic will enter Saturday's clash with Barcelona off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday, with the Lions suffering a 2-0 loss on aggregate to exit the competition in the final four.

Ernesto Valverde's side now only have the league to focus on for the remainder of the season, and they have actually picked up 10 points from their last four matches during an excellent run, overcoming Levante, Real Oviedo and Elche before drawing with Rayo Vallecano.

Athletic are currently ninth in the La Liga table, five points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo, while they are 16 points off the top four, so it is incredibly difficult to imagine the Lions playing Champions League football again during the 2026-27 campaign.

Valverde's team have picked up 23 points from their 13 home league matches this season, and they will be welcoming a Barcelona side that have the second-best away record in Spain's top flight in 2025-26, but the Catalan team have been beaten on four occasions on the road.

Athletic have lost each of their last five matches against Barcelona in all competitions, including a 5-0 defeat in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup in January 2026.

Barcelona are unbeaten against Athletic since a 4-2 reverse in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey in January 2024, while they have not been beaten by the Lions in Spain's top flight since a 1-0 loss at San Mames in August 2019.

The Catalan outfit were also in Copa del Rey action during the week, and Flick's side fell just short, with a 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their semi-final not enough to progress to the final, having lost the first leg 4-0 in Madrid.

Barcelona have also won their last two league matches against Villarreal and Levante, with the team managing to bounce back from their 2-1 reverse to Girona on February 16.

Flick's team are top of the La Liga table, four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, with the capital side in action against Celta Vigo on Friday night.

Barcelona have won 21 of their 26 league matches this season and are the team to beat heading into the final straight, while they have once again been excellent in the final third of the field this term, finding the back of the net on 71 occasions in Spain's top flight.

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

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Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

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Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Team News

Athletic will once again be missing Yeray Alvarez (suspended), Nico Williams (groin), Benat Prados (knee), Unai Egiluz (knee) and Maroan Sannadi (knee) on Saturday.

However, Valverde's side did not suffer any fresh issues in their 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad last time out, so the same squad is set to be available for this match.

There could be a change in midfield against Barcelona, with Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta potentially being introduced, but Inaki Williams, Oihan Sancet and Alex Berenguer are once again expected to support Gorka Guruzeta in the final third of the field.

As for Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski is back in training after suffering a fractured eye socket, and the Poland international could potentially be available for selection at San Mames.

However, Andreas Christensen (knee), Jules Kounde (hamstring), Alejandro Balde (hamstring), Frenkie de Jong (hamstring) and Gavi (knee) are out of action.

Kounde and Balde both suffered injuries in the clash with Atletico last time out, and Joao Cancelo and Gerard Martin are likely to start as the full-backs against Athletic.

Marc Bernal's recent form has been excellent, and the 18-year-old is in line for another start in the middle of midfield, with Eric Garcia likely to feature in the middle of the defence.

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; Vivian, Paredes, Laporte, Boiro; Rego, Ruiz de Galarreta; I Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Guruzeta

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Cancelo, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Martin; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; F Torres

We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Barcelona

Athletic are in excellent form in La Liga, and it would not be a surprise to see the points shared on Saturday, but we just have a feeling that Barcelona's attacking qualities will allow them to secure all three points this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.