Barcelona welcome Athletic Club to the Camp Nou for their first home game of the La Liga campaign.
Hansi Flick's men eased to a convincing 5-0 victory over Elche in round one and hopes are high that the club can win the La Liga title for a third consecutive season.
Not since Pep Guardiola (2009-11) has a coach managed that with Barca, but, after the performance against Elche, Flick's side are clearly the team to beat.
Athletic Club lost their opening league match 3-1 against Sevilla in what was a tough start for new boss Edin Terzic.
Barcelona v Athletic Club Tips Summary
Best Bet - Barcelona -1 @ 5/6
Alternative Bet - Raphinha to score anytime @ 13/8
Bet Builder - Both teams to score, Anthony Gordon to score or assist & Inaki Williams 1+ shot on target @ 3/1
Barcelona v Athletic Club Prediction
Best Bet: Barcelona -1 @ 5/6
The Blaugrana demonstrated their ruthlessness in the final third against an Elche side who could have had a goal or two themselves if it weren't for Joan Garcia in goal.
Is this a sign of things to come this season for Barca?
Despite losing Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres this summer, plus Marcus Rashford returning to Manchester United, there might have been some concerns for strength in depth across a few attacking positions.
The signings of Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, however, look inspired as both shone on matchday one.
Three of the previous four matches between these two sides has seen Barca win 5-0, 4-0 and 3-0 and, given how disappointing Terzic's men were against Sevilla, don't be surprised to see another goal fest when these two sides meet.
Alternative Bet: Raphinha to score anytime @ 13/8
Raphinha was superb last season under Flick, scoring 21 goals and registering eight assists across 33 games. These totals arguably would have been higher had he not suffered with a hamstring injury that limited his gametime.
It looks as though he has began the current campaign in a similar sort of fashion. Against Elche, the Brazilian scored a penalty after just 14 minutes, before adding his second with 23 minutes to go.
The former Leeds United man also provided the assist for Adeyemi's goal on the stroke of half-time.
In eight matches against Bilbao, Raphinha has found the back of the net on three occasions, including two in the 5-0 Supercopa victory earlier this year.
On that basis, backing him to score is a solid bet for this game.
Barcelona v Athletic Club Bet Builder
Both teams to score
Anthony Gordon to score or assist
Inaki Williams 1+ shot on target
Pays 3/1
A win and keeping a clean sheet was a wonderful start to Barca's campaign, but Elche did create several chances.
Indeed, the home side registered three big chances during the game and mustered seven shots, as well as taking more corners than their opponents (3 vs 1).
Athletic Club will be a step up in quality and Terzic's men could pose a threat in the final third.
Both teams scored in their opener and Bilbao registered 18 total shots during the match. Only eight of those were on target, however, and this is something that must improve on against Barca.
Gordon made an excellent start to life in Spain, providing two assists in the 5-0 thrashing of Elche. That was made even more impressive considering he only came on for the final 25 minutes.
Flick might decide to rotate a few players, but expect Gordon to cause plenty of damage in this game, whether from the start or off the bench.
Terzic will turn to Inaki Williams to provide the main threat in the final third. Against Sevilla, the winger managed two shots on target and he also had a shot on target when these two teams met back in March.
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Key Match Stats
Barcelona have won six consecutive matches against Athletic Club
Anthony Gordon is the third Englishman after Gary Lineker and Marcus Rashford to play a competitive game for Barcelona
Athletic Club haven't defeated Barcelona since January 2024
Raphinha has scored three goals in eight games against Athletic Club
Edin Terzic is the second German coach to manage Athletic Club, after Jupp Heynckes
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
