Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
Date: 17/01/2016
Kick-off: 7:30 PM GMT / 02:30 PM EST
Television coverage: NOW TV, Sky Sports 4/HD (UK), beIN Sports USA, beIN Sports en Español, beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A. (USA)
Online Streaming: fuboTV (USA), Sky Go (UK)
Match
Barcelona News
As expected, Barcelona went on to seal their place in the Quarter Finals of the Copa Del Rey with a comfortable 6-1 aggregate victory over Espanyol and more than the result, manager Luis Enrique would perhaps have been pleased at his side coming away from the clash without any injuries or suspensions.
Now Barcelona refocus their energy into the league and will be keen on moving back to the summit of the La Liga table by claiming a victory over visiting Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night, in what should be a tough encounter for the Catalan giants.
Injury Doubts: Rafinha, Douglas
Barcelona Probable Lineup: Bravo; Alba, Pique, Mascherano, Vidal; Turan, Busquets, Iniesta; Suarez, Neymar, Messi
Athletic Bilbao News
Athletic Bilbao have recovered from a difficult start to put themselves in contention for a European placed finish this season but the recent setbacks against Las Palmas and Sevilla has somewhat stemmed Ernesto Valverde’s side’s charge.
Now Athletic face arguably their toughest challenge of the season when they travel to the Nou Camp to square off against a rampant Barcelona side and it will be interesting to see how Valverde’s well drilled outfit will perform during the clash.
Injury Doubts: Ibai Gomez, Gorka, Molina, Raul Garcia, Aritz Aduriz (Suspended)
Athletic Bilbao Probable Lineup: Iraizoz; Balenziaga, A. Laporte, Etxeita, San José; Beñat, Susaeta, Eraso, De Marcos, Sabin, Iñaki Williams
Prediction
Barcelona have only claimed a single victory over Athletic in their last three encounters against each other and among the recent meetings, the Catalans had even suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss in the Super Cup earlier on in the season.
Nonetheless, Barcelona have made a stunning recovery since and with their star men firing on all cylinders, the Catalans are fully expected to cruise their way to victory on Sunday night.
Barcelona 2 – 0 Athletic Bilbao
