La Liga: Barca Bid to Tame the Lions

Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona’s recent upturn in form has a big test on Sunday when a dangerous Athletic Bilbao will rock up at the Camp Nou for a mouthwatering clash. 

The Catalans enter this La Liga fixture on the back of two consecutive high scoring victories while the visitors had a thumping win in the Basque derby at Saint Mames.

There is plenty of action around Europe’s top leagues for SBOTOP football fans to enjoy this weekend and this game is the perfect way to round off the action in La Liga.

The pre-match La Liga 2022 odds reckon by Sunday night Barca will have made it three wins on the bounce, but they will have a serious job on to keep the Lions under control. 

Talking Points

Barcelona bouncing again

Nobody expected Xavi to fix everything quickly when he arrived at the Camp Nou as head coach following the departure of Ronald Koeman, and it hasn’t been all plain sailing for the former Blaugrana midfield star. But a good transfer window and a great week on the pitch has got the club and its fans smiling again. 

A 4-1 win away to Valencia announced the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang as the Gabon striker scored a hat-trick – his first goals since arriving from Arsenal in January.

And while fellow arrivals Ferran Torres and Adama Traore have also settled quickly, a freshening up of the playing staff seems to have lifted their teammates to better form.

The Blaugrana saw of Napoli in the Europa League play-off on Thursday night with another attacking display. Having drawn the first leg 1-1, Barcelona put in a highly impressive performance to beat the Serie A high-flyers on their own turf.

Wing-back Jordi Alba and midfield star Frenkie de Jong, with a beautiful curled finish, fired the Catalans into an early two-goal lead. And after Lorenzo Insigne halved the deficit from the penalty spot, Gerard Pique and Aubameyang made it 4-1 before Napoli’s Matteo Politano halved the deficit again.

Aubamayeng’s finish was emphatic and shows he’s already in good form. The Catalans have drawn Turkish club Galatasaray in the Round of 16 – a clash they’ll be expected to navigate safely.

Xavi’s January transfer dealings seem to have sparked an upturn in the club’s fortunes. They are now unbeaten in six games and fans will hope it becomes a long-term trend.

Bilbao’s Europa Ambition

Athletic Club’s head coach Marcelino has his own ambitions and his players have recently showed they can be prolific in front of goal too.

Last week, Bilbao hammered Real Sociedad 4-0 – a result which took Los Leones up to eighth place in the league table and a point behind their San Sebastien rivals and now they aim to leapfrog them. 

While Sociedad dominated possession, they were outfought and outthought by their hosts who won the shot counts by 18 to nine and eight to two on target – stats that deserve an emphatic victory.

Bilbao’s high-pressing game, dangerous crosses from the wings, and clinical finishing provided goals and La Liga 2022 highlights for top scorer Oihan Sancet, Dani Vivian, and the experienced pair of Inaki Williams and Iker Muniain.

The Barca defence will have plenty of work to do, while at the other end of the pitch standout defender Inigo Martinez will have the task of stopping Aubameyang’s scoring run. 

History

In terms of head-to-heads, the Blaugrana have been dominant, winning 46 of the last 74 encounters, losing 13, and drawing 15.

In fact, when playing at home, Barcelona have not lost to Bilbao is 24 meetings. But the recent Copa del Rey Round of 16 clash went the way of Athletic Club when they won 3-2 as Munlain scored twice and Martinez added a third.

Los Leones went on to beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the fifth round of the Copa as wide-man Alex Berenguer scored the decisive goal.    

Betting Tip

At odds of 1.60 to win this game, Barcelona are heavily backed to secure the three points which will guarantee they hold on to fourth place, providing they match the score of Atletico Madrid who they lead on goal difference.

Xavi will hope his team can keep its Champions League bid on track while the visitors have their Europa ambitions.

The draw is at 3.82 and an away victory is available at a price of 4.74 so this won’t be an entirely one-sided game. And with two attacking lineups banging in form, I hope we’ll see plenty of goals.

 

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