Athletic Club welcome Barcelona to San Mames on Sunday with the chance to enter the conversation regarding qualification for the UEFA Champions League through La Liga. The Basque giants are fifth in the table and three points behind Atletico Madrid in fourth while the Catalans are eight points clear of Athletic but behind leaders Real Madrid by the same margin. Ernesto Valverde's men blew Atleti away 3-0 on Thursday to reach the Copa del Rey final 4-0 on aggregate with RCD Mallorca their final opponents. The Basques have won just one of their last three and lost last weekend to Real Betis but are within reach of a first top-four finish for 10 years with ex-Barca boss Valverde overseeing the third-best home record in the Spanish topflight. Xavi has the Blaugrana on a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions despite his impending departure at the end of the season. Barca could reach the UCL quarterfinals if they see Napoli off in their round of 16 second leg and are just two points from second-placed Girona and unbeaten on the road in La Liga. Athletic have just three league wins over Barcelona since late 2001.
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Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, March 3 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: San Mames -- Bilbao, Spain
- Watch: ESPN+ or Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Athletic +175; Draw +260; Barca +138
Team news
Athletic: Yuri Berchiche and Ander Herrera are both out for this one while Nico Williams and Dani Vivian are suspended. Alex Berenguer should replace Nico Williams while Yeray Alvarez could come in for Vivian in defense. Unai Simon is also set to return instead of Copa del Rey goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala.
Potential Athletic XI: Simon; De Marcos, Yeray, Paredes, Lekue; Ruiz de Galarreta, Prados; I Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Guruzeta.
Barca: Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Marcos Alonso are all out but Ferran Torres could yet make the cut for this one. Inigo Martinez could come back in against his former club with Pedri also in line to return in Joao Felix's place with Raphinha expected to continue on the right. Andreas Christensen could keep his midfield role with Ilkay Gundogan and Frenkie de Jong next to him.
Potential Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, I Martinez, Cancelo; F de Jong, Christensen, Gundogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Pedri.
Prediction
This one promises to be tight and perhaps a draw with both teams scoring is the most logical prediction given what is at stake on both sides. Pick: Athletic 1, Barca 1.
