Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
Athletic Club de Bilbao host Barcelona at the new San Mames looking to reverse a wretched run of league form.
Prior to their win at Levante last week, a win that made it four unbeaten in all competitions, Los Leones hadn't picked up three points in a La Liga fixture since back in November against Getafe, per WhoScored.com.
By contrast, the Catalans have lost just once in all competitions in the same time frame per WhoScored.
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Luis Enrique finally seems to have the Blaugrana playing the football that they'd been threatening to do all season with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez now dovetailing to great effect.
They'll be weary of the thorough examination of their credentials that they received the last time they arrived at this venue.
It has the makings of a classic.
Date: Sunday, February 8
Time: 8:00 p.m. GMT/3:00 p.m ET
Venue: New San Mames, Bilbao, Spain
TV Info: Sky Sports 5 (UK only)/beIN Sports Espanol
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only)/Dish World
Form Lines
| W 2-0 Levante | W 3-2 Villarreal |
| W 1-0 Malaga | W 3-2 Atletico Madrid |
| D 1-1 Malaga | W 6-0 Elche |
| D 0-0 Malaga | W 1-0 Atletico Madrid |
| L 0-2 Villarreal | W 4-0 Deportivo La Coruna |
Predicted Formations
Athletic Club will most likely set up with a 4-2-3-1 formation allowing a back six when needed, plus support for the lone striker when required.
Gorka Iraizoz keeps goal for the hosts with the excellent Aymeric Laporte partnering Carlos Gurpegi in the centre of defence.
Andoni Iraola has the unenviable task of keeping Neymar's forays to a minimum, whilst on the opposite flank Mikel Balenziaga will have a torrid 90 minutes unless he can keep Lionel Messi quiet.
Ander Iturraspe and Mikel Rico can help narrow the lines making Barca's intricate passing movements difficult.
Breaking forward, Aritz Aduriz will lead the line full of confidence after his two-goal salvo at Levante.
Iker Muniain needs a break after a disappointing season personally, and he may wish to recall his excellent display against Barca last season to engender some confidence.
Unai Lopez and Oscar de Marcos make up the home side's XI.
Barcelona will adopt their usual 4-3-3 system and if Enrique has got any sense, he will stick with what has appeared to be his strongest available XI, and one that has served him well recently.
Claudio Bravo is a simple pick in goal. If he continues in the same form as that which he's shown to this point, then we could be looking at a Zamora Trophy win for the stopper with a record low of goals conceded.
Only Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich comes anywhere close to the Chilean in Europe's top five leagues.
Dani Alves and Jordi Alba are equally comfortable full-back selections with the reborn Gerard Pique and ever-dependable Javier Mascherano anchoring the defence centrally.
Ivan Rakitic is finally starting to show the form from his Sevilla days and is providing midfield excellence that is complimentary to Andres Iniesta's more incisive bursts.
Sergio Busquets sits in his usual role just in front of the defence.
This leaves the triple threat of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to terrorise Athletic Club's back four.
Player To Watch
Aymeric Laporte may still only be 20 years of age but he has already forged himself a reputation as one of Spanish football's most complete central defenders.
Tall, commanding and quick, Laporte also has a football brain par excellence which keeps him one step ahead when the back four come under pressure.
A sign of just how highly he is rated comes in the form of an approximate transfer fee of £46.3 million plus salary, according to Chris Winterburn of Metro.
At just 22, Neymar has had the world at his feet for years, but he was never going to be truly judged as world class until he showcased his talents in one of the top European leagues.
It's taken 12 months of acclimatisation to new team-mates, new surroundings and new culture, but Barca are now enjoying the fruits of the Brazilian's labour.
Not only is he scoring and creating more goals now, but Neymar's movement both with and without the ball is first class.
Key Battle
Although Barca's Achilles' heel in the past has been the high ball into the box, if crosses were cut off at source, then the Catalans would have one less worry.
The issue arises because both Dani Alves and Jordi Alba love to get forward and support the attack, often at the expense of their defensive duties.
Iker Muniain is no slouch and whilst he hasn't had the best of seasons, he remains a fierce and able competitor.
Scoring the only goal in this fixture last season was enough to hand Barca their first league defeat of the campaign, and if he's allowed time to get in amongst it, don't bet against him being decisive again, whether scoring himself or firing in those dangerous crosses for Aritz Aduriz et al to get on the end of.
Odds
The following pre-match odds are available via our betting partner Odds Shark:
Home Win: 7/1
Away Win: 50/139
Draw: 4/1
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