Copa del Rey: Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona Live
Preview
Two passionate Copa del Rey fans will face each other in an exciting quarter-final match on Wednesday evening, as Athletic Bilbao welcomes Barcelona to San Mames. Ernesto Valverde will meet his former team after guiding the Basque side to a 2-0 victory over Alaves in the previous round, while Barcelona defeated Unionistas 3-1.
In the last four editions of the Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao has consistently reached the semi-finals and finished as runners-up in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 tournaments. They have continued to demonstrate their strength in knockout matches in the current 2023-24 campaign. Their coach, Valverde, who previously led the team to victory in the Copa del Rey, has overseen their recent successes. They have secured straightforward wins against Rubi, Cayon, Eibar, and Alaves in the current edition.
Athletic Bilbao has advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive year, and they have not been eliminated at this stage since the 2015-16 season. Despite suffering their first defeat since October 22, they enter the upcoming knockout battle following a 14-game unbeaten run, which included six consecutive victories. Their recent loss to Valencia in La Liga has caused them to drop to fourth place in the standings, below Barcelona.
Mixing it with the top Spanish teams remains a challenge for Athletic, who aim to secure their seventh consecutive home win when Barcelona visits the Basque Country. However, Barcelona took advantage of Athletic’s recent stumble to surpass them in the standings. Despite impressive performances from young players Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, the spotlight was on Ferran Torres, who scored a hat-trick and set up Joao Felix’s goal in a 4-2 victory over Real Betis.
This win allowed Barcelona to climb into the top three of La Liga and ease some of the pressure on their coach Xavi. Apart from a heavy defeat in the Supercopa de Espana against Real Madrid, Barcelona has had a promising start to 2024 with five wins in six matches, including victories in the Copa del Rey. However, Barcelona has a history of struggling against Athletic, having been eliminated by them in previous seasons, but they have recently achieved a four-game winning streak against Athletic without conceding a goal.
Head-to-head
Barcelona has been the most successful team in the history of this rivalry, winning 50, drawing 15, and losing 13 of the last 78 matches against Bilbao. Athletic Bilbao has not scored in any of their last four games against Barca, including a 0-1 loss in Barca earlier this season, which was their last defeat before the recent loss to Valencia.
Prediction
Despite their known weaknesses, Barca continue to be highly effective in the attacking third, scoring in their last 15 matches and getting at least two goals in seven of their last eight games. While Athletic has been strong in recent weeks, they may struggle to break through Barcelona’s defense and are likely to fall short as Xavi’s team prevents them from reaching a fifth consecutive semi-final appearance.
