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Athletic Bilbao logo
La Liga
Feb 8, 2015 at 8pm UK
 
Barcelona logo

2-5

Rico (59'), Aduriz (66')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Messi (15'), Suarez (26'), De Marcos (62'), Neymar (64'), Pedro (86')

Preview: Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona

Sports Mole previews the match between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona in La Liga.

Barcelona will be looking to record their ninth consecutive win in all competitions when they travel to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night.

The Catalan giants have netted 29 goals during a rich vein of form which has seen them maintain pace with Real Madrid in the La Liga table as well as seeing off the challenge of Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey.

Luis Enrique's team had to dig deep to edge out Villarreal at Camp Nou last weekend, but the club's coach would have been delighted to have witnessed his side show impressive resilience for the second time in the space of four days.

The starting lineup is unlikely to be altered for the trip to Bilbao, with Enrique hoping that Luis Suarez can break his current four-game run without a goal.

Bilbao welcome Barca having recovered from a dismal run of results that had seen them fall to five defeats in six matches.

However, since January 21, Los Leones have won twice and drawn twice to improve their fortunes in both league and cup, conceding just one goal during the same period.

Goals at the other end of the pitch remain a problem though, and manager Ernesto Valverde will be hoping that Aritz Aduriz can continue his improvement in front of goal after previously scoring just twice in 13 games.

Valverde could include Xabier Etxeita in his defence, with Andoni Iraola having to sit out the match through suspension.

Athletic Bilbao:

Form in La Liga: LLLLDW
Form in all competitions: LLDDWW

Possible starting lineup: Iraizoz, Etxeita, Balenziaga, Laporte, Gurpegi, Iturraspe, Mikel Rico, Aduriz, Muniain, De Marcos, Unai Lopez

Barcelona:

Form in La Liga: WLWWWW
Form in all competitions: WWWWWW

Possible starting lineup: Bravo; Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Alba; Busquets, Rafinha, Iniesta; Neymar, Suarez, Messi

Sports Mole says: 1-4


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Written by
Darren Plant
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Atletico MadridAtletico18125133122141
2Real Madrid18124241182340
3Barcelona19122551222938
4Athletic Bilbao19106329171236
5Villarreal188643430430
6Mallorca199371921-230
7Real Sociedad187471613325
8GironaGirona187472625125
9Real BetisBetis186752122-125
10Osasuna186752327-425
11Celta Vigo187382728-124
12Rayo Vallecano185762021-122
13Las PalmasLas Palmas186482327-422
14Sevilla186482027-722
15Leganes184681728-1118
16AlavesAlaves184592130-917
17Getafe183781115-416
18Espanyol1843111630-1415
19Valencia172691626-1012
20Real ValladolidValladolid1833121237-2512


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