Barcelona vs Ath Bilbao Prediction & Betting Tips (7 January)

Winner of the last edition, Barça advances to defend its title and is riding a very good wave of 9 victories in a row in La Liga against Elche 3-1, Celta Vigo 2-4, Athletic Bilbao 4-0, Alaves 3-1, Atlético Madrid 3-1, Bétis 3-5, Osasuna 2-0, Villarreal 0-2 and last weekend in the Catalan derby on the lawn of Espanyol Barcelona 0-2. Leaders of La Liga by 4 points over Real Madrid, the Blaugrana have not lost since their clash at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the Champions League, losing 3-0, thus making 8 victories in a row in all competitions. Athletic returns to the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup, beaten last season by the same Barça team at this stage of the competition. This season is far from being as productive as the last for the San Mames Lions, lacking a roar in the championship.

Only eighth with 24 points at the start of the second part of the La Liga season, the Basques are no less than 26 points behind the leader who is none other than Barcelona themselves. To date, Ernesto Valverde's men collapsed on the Osasuna pitch 1-1, in the wake of a defeat at the end of 2025 against Espanyol Barcelona 1-2. 

The infirmary is becoming empty in Barcelona but midfielder Gavi and defender Andreas Christensen are still receiving treatment. Although they could be in the group for this trip, both elements will not evolve. Ronald Araujo, sidelined for a few weeks for his mental health, returned to the squad against Espanyol and says he is ready to play. Against Espanyol Barcelona, ​​Lamine Yamal was not decisive, as was already the case during the big matches against Real Madrid, Chelsea or even PSG and Atlético Madrid in La Liga. The Spanish nugget will obviously be expected this evening like the serious Pedri, F.De Jong, Robert Lewandowski (scorer against Espanyol), Dani Olmo (author of a gem against Espanyol) and Fermin Lopez. Ferran Torres, previously a luxury joker in this formation, is now propelled as starting number 9 and 2nd top scorer in La Liga with 11 goals, quite far behind K.

Mbappé (18 pawns). At Athletic Bilbao, central defender Yeray Alvarez is still suspended for doping while Egiluz and Ben Prados are very seriously injured (cruciate ligaments). Still in the defensive sector, Yuri Berchiche (left side) and Aymeric Laporte (central) could be missing due to injury. The Moroccan international Sannadi, injured, was unable to respond to Walid Regragui to play in the CAN and will be missing on the field today. The Williams brothers: Nico (3 goals, 2 assists in La Liga) and Inaki (1 goal in La Liga) are not performing well enough in the league to carry this team. They will still be operational or even installed in the starting eleven like Sancet.