Spanish La Liga
2021-08-21 - Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football : Spain : La Liga
Venue : San Mamés Barria
Saturday 21st August 2021, 2000hrs
Saturday brings us further action from the Spanish top flight and the La Liga clash between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona at the San Mamés Barria with the hosts looking to get off the mark with a win here.
Athletic Bilbao were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw away from home at Elche in their season-opener in La Liga on Monday night, but having failed to win any of their last five games in the domestic top flight, this upcoming encounter against Barcelona looks to be a tough task.
Three defeats within these last five games for Athletic Bilbao include defeats against Huesca, Real Madrid and Elche, while points picked up in draws with Osasuna and Elche were scant consolation.
The bigger picture shows that Athletic Bilbao have managed to register just two wins from their previous 14 matches overall in La Liga, but they’ve been a stubborn outfit to beat on home turf at their San Mamés Barria in recent times.
Athletic Bilbao have lost just one of their last 10 matches at home but their previous encounter against Barcelona ended in a 3-2 defeat at home back in January.
Barcelona made a positive start to their new La Liga campaign last weekend when they recorded a 4-2 home win over Real Sociedad which may have gone some way to appeasing their fans regarding the exit of star player, Lionel Messi, to PSG recently.
Barcelona had finished last season in indifferent form, being held to draws by Atletico Madrid and Levante along with losing 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo but they at least atoned for that defeat by beating Eibar 1-0 away from home on the final day of last season.
The visitors finished in 3rd place at the end of last season and realistically, Barcelona may have to settle for a top four finish again this season, especially as they’ll now be without the services of Messi.
Nevertheless, Barcelona suffered only the one defeat out of their last 14 away games last term, that being a 2-1 loss at Real Madrid, but also included no fewer than 12 wins on the road as well.
The Betting Verdict
Barcelona have won four out of the previous five meetings against Athletic Bilbao and the visitors look to have a decent chance of adding to their points tally on Saturday night.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Barcelona
