Entering the pitch as the probable victim, how can Athletic Bilbao manage to pull a stunner against the heavily favored Blaugranas?

Even if Athletic Bilbao arrives into this match as the proverbial victim, Los Leones de San Mamés still possess some weapons and tactics that could hurt Barcelona's prospects of winning the treble. Usually a complicated side to beat for Luis Enrique's men, Athletic have shown quite an impressive form in their most recent games, where they were trying to reach European football spots in La Liga. While Barcelona still has one more game to go before they can go on holidays, Athletic will want to end their season in a high by beating Los Culés, and here are some key factors to help them do so.

1. Midfield pressure

Ernesto Valverde usually starts all of his team's games with several men playing midfield, so that quick teams like Barcelona struggle a bit to create chances. This worked out just fine for them during their first meeting this season, when they held Messi & Co. scoreless for 82 minutes until Neymar secured the win for Los Blaugranas. When the team has changed its style into a more aggresive one, Los Culés have taken advantage of it and hit them hard, just like in their 5-2 win over Athletic in February. With five men working the mid-section against Rakitic, Busquets and Iniesta, the Lions will try to give Barça a hard time when they try to attack them.

2. Aritz Aduriz's moment

The Basque forward was key to the team's success this season, with timely goals whenever they needed him. In fact, one of the reasons Barcelona reclaimed the top of La Liga's standings was Aduriz's goal against Real Madrid, which handed Los Blancos a blow from which they could never recover. Aduriz has scored 24 goals in all competitions, and he will be responsible of carrying his team's offensive weight on Saturday evening. Just so you know, Aduriz's skills almost had him signing with Los Blaugranas two years ago, but he refused to leave his beloved team.

Aduriz finished the season as the sixth most effective striker in La Liga.

3. Iraola's speed vs Neymar

There are very few players that can match Neymar's speed on the pitch, and one of them plays for Athletic. While being a sub for Oscar de Marcos, Andoni Iraola has proven to be quite effective against elusive wingmen that plan to hurt the Lions. Even if he is no wizard with the ball, Iraola can very well outrun Neymar, and his speed and balance could cut most of the Brazilian's chances this Saturday. Helped by Mikel Rico, Neymar will not have an easy evening when he steps on and takes on the Basque defender.

4. The "Williams" factor

During this season's games, Inaki Williams was one of the most threatening players up front for Los Leones, teaming up correctly with Aritz Aduriz. This Saturday, his speed will come in handy for the team, since some of Barcelona's center backs are not as quick as you would like. Williams did not play against Los Blaugranas in La Liga, and he will surely want to make his name stand out when this match ends.

Williams is one of the fastest players in La Liga. Can Pique and Mascherano stop him on the run?

5. Laporte: the answer to stop Luis Suarez

Another player Barcelona wanted to add, the French defender is one of the most effective center backs in La Liga, and even if he is quite tall, he does not lack the speed to face some of football's top names. He was key to keeping his goal intact against some of La Liga's finest strikers such as Karim Benzema and Mario Mandzukic, and he will try to do it one more time against Luis Suarez. Whatever chances the Lions have of upsetting Los Culés will rely heavily on what Laporte can do to help him. Maybe he can prove Barcelona's execs wrong after picking Jeremy Mathieu instead of him last year.

 

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Athletic Club 1 - 3 Barcelona

May 30, 2015 3:30pmCamp Nou (Barcelona)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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