Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Prediction and Betting Preview, 06 Feb 2020

Here's our Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Prediction analysis:

There seem to be some sort of mini-crisis going on at Barcelona at the moment with the club having to the deal with a couple of on-field and off-the-field fracas. Recently axing former manager Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien has been vested with the task of steadying the ship at the Nou Camp.

Match status: 2019-20 Copa del Rey - Quarter-finals
Kick-off: Thursday 06 Feb 2020, 09:00pm CET
 Venue: San Mamés (Bilbao)

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Following a stellar start to their league campaign which saw them rise to the top of the standings, the Blaugrana have been hit by a sharp decline in form. Struggling to maintain consistency in the league, Barca are slowly failing in their tracks to retain the La Liga title.

Some disturbing news surfaced on social media some days ago as Lionel Messi lashed out at his club’s sporting director Eric Abidal, who claimed that Barca players were to be blamed for Ernesto Valverde’s sack.

However, with a Copa del Rey quarter-final game against Athletic Bilbao on the cards, Barcelona will be looking to put these issues behind them as they look to get their faltering campaign right back on track. Brace yourself for an enthralling game at the San Mames Ground.

Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Team News

In what was expected to be a straight-forward Round-of-16 Copa del Rey clash against Spanish league minnows Tenerife, Athletic Bilbao were made to scrap really hard for the win. Their lowly counterparts definitely gave them a run for their money.

Just two minutes into the game, one of Bilbao’s players received his marching orders from the referee for a late tackle. With only ten men left on the field, the home side struggled to assert their dominance on the game.

Held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at the end of regulation time, the game was dragged further into extra time. Tenerife went ahead early in the first period of extra time but were pegged back by a resilient Bilbao side.

Ultimately headed for penalty shoot-outs, Les Leones came out tops in the post-extra-time spot-kicks that ensued, sending them through to the quarter finals of the league cup competition.

Barcelona, on the other hand, made light work of Leganes in the previous round of the competition at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque, firing five unanswered goals past their sorry opponents. As the goals kept coming, the home side must have been praying for the sound of the final whistle.

The Blaugrana were totally rampant in that game, registering a total of eighteen shots at goal, half of which were on the target. It was goals galore for Setiens’ men on the day as they strolled to victory over Javier Aguirre’s men.

The visiting contingent have stumbled just once in their previous seven outings across all competitions. Going on, they have not admitted defeat in their last eight visits to this ground. Count on them to extend that unbeaten streak to nine games in this fixture.

Already touted by the bookmakers as overwhelming favorites for the win, Barcelona will be required to guard against complacency to have any chances of sending this Bilbao side crashing from the competition.

Injured or Suspended Players

Athletic Bilbao: Oscar de Marcos and Iago Herrerin.

Barcelona: Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Neto and Arturo Vidal.

Pre-Match Odds

Athletic Bilbao - 4.24
Draw - 3.50
Barcelona - 1.90

All odds are with 1xBet and are subject to change.
All odds are for Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Predictions with 1xBet and are subject to change.

Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Predictions

Athletic Bilbao have been at their defensive best on home soil this season having managed three clean sheets in their previous six games at the San Memes Ground. Also, they have conceded a measly four goals in the process.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have got their guns blazing this season and are very unlikely to be shut out completely by this sturdy Bilbao defense.

Despite their resilience in front of the home crowd, Barcelona should have enough about themselves to find a way past the Bilbao defense. Expect a frantic encounter at Bilbao this Thursday, with the Blaugrana edging out with a narrow win margin.