Barcelona vs Athletic Club Prediction: Lewandowski can strike again

Barcelona will resume their La Liga campaign with a difficult home test against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday afternoon. Given the Camp Nou is stil undergoing renovation, and Barca are due to return at the end of this year, this will be played at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, their temporary home. 

Below you can find my Barcelona vs Athletic Club prediction, with betting tips and team news. 

Team News

Fermin Lopez has joined up with the Barcelona squad once again after enjoying a break after playing for Spain at both Euro 2024 and the Paris Olympics. However Hansi Flick is likely to name the same attacking quartet as he did against Valencia, with Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal flanking Robert Lewandowski. 

Meanwhile, Oihan Sancet will be searching for another goal for Athletic Club, having opened the scoring in their 1-1 draw with Getafe. Star man Iñaki Williams should start on the right, with Nico Williams also expected to come back into the starting XI after his summer heroics at Euro 2024.

Barcelona vs Athletic Club Odds

Barcelona are the favourites to win this game, priced at 16/25, while Athletic Club can be backed at 4/1. A draw can be picked out at 16/5, over 2.5 goals is 18/25 and BTTS is 77/100. 

Barcelona to win and BTTS @ 9/4

I think Barcelona will do pretty well this season under new boss Flick, and they have the attacking talent to harm any side in La Liga. Dani Olmo still cannot be registered by the club, while Ilkay Gundogan has been let go on a free to help aid their financial issues. 

But despite the off-the-pitch issues, they have a decent squad right now. Raphinha, Yamal, Torres and Lewandowski can cause any team problems. They beat Valencia 2-1 in their opening game, and I think they will win again here. However, with the Williams brothers reunited, Athletic Club are also an impressive attacking outfit and should be able to find the net themselves. 

Robert Lewandowski to score anytime @ 51/50

Still an elite striker, still Barca’s main goalscorer. Lewandowski scored twice in the opening day win against Valencia and has now scored 61 goals in 94 games for the Spanish giants. He is also Barcelona’s reliable penalty taker and should be able to find the net here on home soil. 

Barca boast a lot of creative players, especially Yamal, but they truly only have one elite number nine and so a lot of the goalscoring responsibility falls on Lewandowski’s shoulders. I think he will step up to the plate again and find the net against Athletic Club.