Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Prediction: Double Chance for the Bilbao Club

Prediction for the Copa del Rey match between Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona, which will take place on January 8th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the teams' conditions! Several betting options are available.

Athletic Bilbao

Athletic has played nine matches since the international break. In Europa League, they won over Elfsborg 3:0 and Fenerbahce 2:0. In La Liga, the team defeats 1:0 Real Sociedad, 2:1 Real Madrid, 2:0 Villarreal, 2:1 Rayo and Osasuna and sealed a 1:1 draw with Alaves. In the Copa, they secured a tough away victory over Logroñés in a penalty shootout. Overall, the Bilbao club hasn't lost a single match out of 15. These results have helped the Lions climb to fourth place in the La Liga standings, with Athletic having 36 points, seven behind leading Real Madrid. Their home statistics are third in the division, with +6=3-1 and 16:7 goal difference.

Barcelona

Barça has played nine matches since the November break, including a confident 3:0 victory over Brest in the Champions League and very important 3:2 over Borussia Dortmund away. In La Liga, there were away draws with Celta and Betis, home defeats to Las Palmas, Leganes and Atletico, and an away defeat to Mallorca 5:1. In the Copa, the club thrashed 4:0 Barbastro. At the moment, Barcelona sits third in the LL championship with 38 points, five behind Real Madrid. Barcelona's away form is first in the division, +7=2-2-2, 31:14 goal difference.

Expert Betting Tips

Athletic always focuses on the cups, so one should be very careful when betting in such matches against the Basques. The Lions are in good form and ride a long unbeaten streak. Barcelona has lacked stability lately. In the Copa, the Catalans confidently dealt with a modest Barbastro. But in La Liga, the Blues have a 3-match undefeated streak, which led to the fact that they have fallen to third place in the standings, although recently they were leading. Looking at the line for the game, we reckon the best bet is a double chance on the Bilbao club. We're expecting a tight, hard-fought match that won't be very productive.