Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona

21st November, 2009

San Mamés

Kick-Off: 22:00 CET / 21:00 GMT

Barcelona

Barcelona will likely have enjoyed the international break as the club were starting to look shaky at times heading into this Athletic vs Barcelona match.

There’s a huge gap that separates the top teams in Spain and the rest of the pack. Barcelona and Real Madrid are the obvious giants, so when Barcelona struggled to a 1-1 draw with Osasuna and two very poor Champions League performances against Rubin Kazan, perhaps it was good timing for the international matches.

Nevertheless, Barcelona are still flying high and topping the La Liga table with a one point advantage over Real Madrid.

The club are yet to lose in the league and with the tools available to them, Barcelona will be expected, once again, to win in this Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao clash.

Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao will welcome the defending La Liga champions to the San Mames stadium on Saturday for this Athletic vs Barcelona match, looking to build off a fine derby win over Racing Santander.

Joaquin Caparros’ side put in a very impressive performance as the Basque side deservedly walked out 2-0 winners. The win must be considered even more impressive as Athletic were without their star striker Fernando Llorente.

The Spanish international will likely be back in action for Athletic - Barcelona on Saturday, and his goal scoring prowess will certainly be welcome against the Champions.

Bilbao currently sit in the middle of the table and their record of five wins, five losses and one draw indicates that is where they belong.

From time to time the club puts in a really amazing performance, but they must be considered a mid-to-bottom half of the table kind of team.

Prediction

Barcelona won all three of the meetings between the clubs last season. The Barca - Athletic Bilbao clash at Camp Nou ended 2-0, whilst the reverse Athletic - Barcelona match finished 1-0 in favour of the Catalan side.

A 4-1 thumping of Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey was undoubtedly the highlight of the three for Barcelona. Whilst Saturday's match should be a little more evenly-matched, expect Barcelona to bounce back from their recent blip in form and post a victory.

Athletic vs Barcelona Prediction: Athletic 0 - Barcelona 1

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