Athletic vs Barcelona Prediction, Match Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks
Tough Road Test for La Liga Leader
With no international competition on its schedule, Barcelona is determined to wind up the La Liga title race as soon as possible. Athletic Club is still aiming for the top six, with a victory allowing it to keep the UEFA Champions League hopes alive.
As expected, Barcelona is favored in the soccer lines, but Bilbao has been considerably better when playing at home and offering a good price.
Athletic Bilbao: Rough Patch
Athletic Bilbao has always been a gusty squad, but it will face Barcelona amid a rough patch. First, it lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid. Later, 3-2 to Girona and 1-0 to Osasuna. Most recently, it drew 0-0 to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
On top of that, Oihan Sancet, the team’s top scorer with eight goals, won’t be available to face Barcelona after getting a red card in Vallecas.
The good news is that four other players have scored at least three goals. Also, Mikel Vesga, Inaki Williams, Iker Muniain, Unai Vencedor, Oscar de Marcos and Raul Garcia either didn’t start or play against Rayo. That means all of them will be at 100% to face Barcelona.
Bilbao has been considerably better at home, where it owns a 6-2-4 record. The club is offering a +245 price in the sportsbook to win straight up.
Barcelona: New Style
Forget about witnessing a goal-fest every time Barcelona is on the pitch. Los Azulgranas have adopted a new style in which winning possession is no longer a priority. Six of their last eight victories in La Liga were by only one goal.
On Sunday, they defeated Valencia 1-0, with Raphinha as the scorer. Barcelona did win possession, but only with 54%. Plus, Valencia finished with 13 shots in total. I’m telling you, Xavi Hernandez has implemented a new style, which has been pretty effective so far.
No other team has conceded fewer goals than Barcelona’s eight. On the other hand, despite not being the top-scoring team, it does have the league’s top scorer in Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 15 goals.
Summing up, Barcelona totally deserves to be the soccer betting favorite at +120, a surprising price considering it’s 10-0-2 when playing on the road. The absence of Ronald Araujo, one of the best centre-backs in the game, has a lot to do with it. He got a red card in the previous match.
Athletic vs Barcelona Head-to-Head
- Previous Matches: 216
- Athletic Bilbao Victories: 72 (298 goals)
- Barcelona Victories: 109 (405 goals)
- Draws: 35
Barcelona also had the soccer odds on its side in the first meeting between the two and didn’t disappoint. Barcelona won 4-0 with Ousmane Dembele, Sergi Roberto, Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres as the scorers. It was never a competitive contest, with the first half finishing 3-0.
The total has gone over 2½ goals in four of their last five encounters, making the over for Sunday’s match another good option to include in your betting online ticket.
Athletic vs Barcelona Match Information
- Match: Athletic vs Barcelona
- Date: Sunday, Mar. 12th
- Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
- Location: San Mames, Bilbao
- Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Live Stream: fubo.tv
Athletic vs Barcelona Betting Lines
Athletic vs Barcelona Picks and Prediction
Yes, Araujo is a great player, but Barcelona’s new style makes it not depend on any player like it used to happen with Lionel Messi. Let’s not forget that it defeated Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu on March 2 without many usual starters. After being eliminated from the UEFA Europa League, Barcelona just wants to make sure it wins both La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Finally, if you’re a sports betting enthusiast, you know Barcelona at +120 is too good a deal not to take.
Barcelona is listed at +120 in our Vegas La Liga lines. This means that if you wager $100 on Barcelona, you have a chance to win $120. The Athletic Bilbao are +245, offering a chance to win $245 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Barcelona a 45.45% chance to win, with Athletic Bilbao at 28.99%.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
Athletic vs Barcelona Match Detail
