Ath Bilbao vs Barcelona prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2025-05-24 19:00.
[p]A stunning second-half goal from Álex Berenguer saw Athletic Club defeat Valencia 1-0 last Sunday to seal fourth place and record their joint-best La Liga finish since 1997/98. Whilst it lowers the stakes for their final game of the season against Barcelona, head coach Ernesto Valverde will be keen to avenge Athletic’s two losses to his former employers this season, but one win from his 17 personal La Liga encounters with Barça (D3, L13) suggests that’s a tall order.[/p]
[p]Valverde’s bid for revenge will be aided by an outstanding defence that has conceded just 26 goals throughout the La Liga season, the fewest in Europe’s traditional top-five leagues. That has contributed significantly to their current unbeaten run of 15 league games at home (W10, D5), including a noteworthy 2-1 win over runners-up Real Madrid. [/p]
[p]Barcelona are likely to test Athletic’s defensive record for a third time this season as they remain just one strike away from reaching 100 goals in a single La Liga campaign for just the second time without all-time leading goalscorer Lionel Messi. They’re also out to prove they’re not suffering from a title hangover after last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Villarreal put them at risk of losing consecutive La Liga matches for just the second time this season[/p]
[p]Whatever happens here, it has been a successful season for head coach Hansi Flick after he became the fifth Barcelona coach to achieve the La Liga-Copa del Rey double in their debut season at the club. Now assured by the security of a contract extension through to 2027, Flick’s final assignment of 2024/25 is to steer the club to their seventh consecutive away league victory, which would also see them draw level with Real Madrid for the most La Liga wins (seven) at San Mamés.[/p]
[p]Key battle: Unai Simón has played his part in Athletic’s five consecutive clean sheets with a total of nine saves, whilst he also managed to shut out Barcelona in Athletic’s goalless draw here last season. Robert Lewandowski could be the one to end that clean sheet streak after he delivered the winner in the 2-1 reverse fixture – his last eight club goals arrived after half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Athletic are the only La Liga side yet to concede in the first ten minutes of action this season.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Sridhar B[/i][/p]