La Liga champions Barcelona will be bidding to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they welcome Athletic Bilbao to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday night.
The Catalan outfit are currently third in the La Liga table, picking up 21 points from their opening nine matches of the campaign, while Athletic are fifth, boasting 19 points from their first nine games of 2023-24.
Match preview
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Barcelona have won six and drawn three of their nine La Liga matches this season to collect 21 points, which has left them in third position in the division, three points behind the leaders Real Madrid.
The Catalan side have been victorious in their opening two Champions League group-stage matches, meanwhile, beating Royal Antwerp 5-0 before recording a 1-0 win over Porto, leaving them in good shape ahead of their next game at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on October 25.
Barcelona drew 2-2 with Granada before the international break; the champions were actually two goals behind in that match before Lamine Yamal and then Sergi Roberto found the back of the net, with Xavi's side remaining unbeaten in all competitions season, but it was certainly two points dropped rather than one gained.
Blaugrana were 1-0 winners over Sevilla in their last match at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, and they will be determined to secure another victory this weekend before El Clasico at home to Real Madrid on October 28.
Barcelona have been victorious in each of their last three La Liga matches with Athletic, while they are unbeaten against the Basque side in Spain's top flight since August 2019.
Xavi will be slightly concerned by the draws with Getafe, Mallorca and Granada this season, but it has been a positive start overall, as the team look to challenge on all fronts in 2023-24.
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Athletic, meanwhile, have won five, drawn two and lost two of their nine league matches this season to collect 17 points, which has left them in fifth position in the table.
The team's low-point of the season came in the Basque derby on September 30, as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Real Sociedad, but they bounced back impressively by beating Almeria 3-0 before the international break.
Ernesto Valverde's side are only actually four points behind third-placed Granada, and they have picked up seven points from their four away league games this season, which will hand them confidence ahead of the clash with the division leaders this weekend.
Athletic have finished eighth in their last two campaigns, but they were fourth in 2013-14 and fifth in 2015-16, so a European spot is certainly not beyond them this term.
Inaki Williams and Gorka Guruzeta have both scored four goals each in La Liga this season, while Nico Williams, who continues to be linked with a move away from the club, leads the assists charts with four, but the Lions will be without the latter this weekend due to a back issue.
Team News
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Barcelona have a lengthy injury list at this moment in time, but Xavi said during his pre-match press conference that both Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde would be available following fitness problems.
Sergi Roberto, Jules Kounde, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri are still absent, but there are likely to be further returns over the next week.
Lewandowski, Raphinha, De Jong and Pedri could all allegedly be back for El Clasico, which could be crucial, even this early in the campaign.
There were doubts over the availability of Ronald Araujo and Ilkay Gundogan following their international commitments, but the pair have been declared fit to start this match, while there is expected to be a return to the starting side for Oriol Romeu.
As for Athletic, Nico Williams, who is being heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, is absent due to a back complaint, while Yeray Alvarez is missing due to the muscle problem that he suffered against Almeria last time out.
Aitor Paredes is expected to come into the side in place of Yeray, while Iker Muniain could get the nod in a wide area due to the absence of Nico Williams.
Mikel Vesga, Peru Nolaskoain and Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta are also on the sidelines through injury, which was also the case against Almeria last time out.
Dani Garcia was on the scoresheet against Almeria and should retain his spot in central midfield alongside Ander Herrera, while Oscar de Marcos should again feature at right-back.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Christensen, Araujo, Balde; Gundogan, Romeu, Gavi; Yamal, F Torres, Felix
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Paredes, Vivian, Berchiche; Herrera, D Garcia; I Williams, Sancet, Muniain; Guruzeta
We say: Barcelona 2-1 Athletic Bilbao
This has all of the makings of a fascinating match, and we are expecting Athletic to cause the Catalan outfit problems on Sunday night. Barcelona will again be missing a number of important players, but we are backing Xavi's side to navigate their way to all three points in this contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
