It hasn’t been an easy couple of weeks for Xavi Hernandez and Barcelona, but the Catalans will be aiming for three points as they host Athletic Club at the Camp Nou on Sunday evening in LaLiga Santander.
Having seen their Champions League progression hopes all but end with a 3-3 draw against Inter and also losing to Real Madrid in the season’s first Clasico, the Blaugrana entered their first crisis of the season. But they managed to beat Villarreal last time out to – at least temporarily – move beyond that.
But now they have to ready themselves for the visit of Athletic, with the Basques coming into this weekend’s games in sixth place with 18 points from their 10 games so far – leaving them nine points shy of the Catalans in second.
Barcelona vs Athletic predicted line-ups
Xavi is again having to do without Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo, while Memphis Depay is also still out. There have been suggestions that Ousmane Dembele and Eric Garcia could start.
For Athletic, Ander Capa and Jon Morcillo are sidelined with injuries.
Barcelona predicted XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, E Garcia, Alonso; Gavi, De Jong, Pedri; Dembele, Lewandowski, Fati.??
Athletic predicted XI: Simon; De Marcos, I Martinez, Yeray, Lekue; Berenguer, Herrera, Sancet, Muniain; I Williams, N Williams.
Barcelona vs Athletic: When does it start?
Barcelona vs Athletic kicks off at 21:00 CEST – local time in Catalonia – on Sunday evening, meaning that LaLiga Santander fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland can tune in from 20:00 BST.
In the United States, kick off in Barcelona vs Athletic is at 15:00 EST or 12:00 PST.
Barcelona vs Athletic: Where to watch it?
LaLiga TV and Premier Sports 1 will show Barcelona vs Athletic in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the game also on ITV4.
In the US, ESPN+ are the rights holders for LaLiga Santander games and Barcelona vs Athletic can be viewed on there.