The defending La Liga Champions start off their season against a team that owes them their place in history. After being defeated in the Spanish Super Copa by their hosts on Sunday, Barcelona will try to avenge that loss with a top performance even though some of their key players will not be available.
Athletic Bilbao shocked Los Blaugranas with a massive 4-0 win in the first leg of the Super Copa de España. Aritz Aduriz became the driving force up front to lead Los Leones to a wonderful result, capping his performance with another goal at Camp Nou Stadium to secure the title for Ernesto Valverde's crew. The team's manager asked his players to show the same intensity and focus as they did during the recent meetings against Los Culés.
"Emotionally, we are in a perfect state. We get to this match with a high morale. As long as we know how to deal with it, we have to enter this match with the same intensity as before. After winning a title, we have to come back to earth and work if we want to touch the sky one more time," Valverde stated.
Despite the ego boost the Super Cup granted Los Leones, some players will not be available for Sunday's match. Jonas Ramalho, Iñaki Williams and Iker Muniain are all out due to injuries, while Kike Sola's red card against Los Blaugranas on Monday will prevent him from participating in the game. Midfielder Mikel San José, who's long distance goal started the party for Athletic in the Super Cup is listed as doubtful, but he is expected to perform in front of his home crowd.
The defending Champions will have to show a different face if they want to keep their unbeaten streak in La Liga against Athletic. Coach Luis Enrique will have to deal with a limited amount of players for the next few months, given the transfer ban that prevents them from adding players to their current squad.
Gerard Pique, Adriano, Jeremy Mathieu, Douglas and Neymar will be out for this game, while Jordi Alba recovered just in time to make the trip to Bilbao.
Lionel Messi will be, as always, the key to defeat Athletic Bilbao. The Argentinean player knows how to hurt Los Leones, since he has been able to score 19 goals in all competitions against the Basque side. "La Pulga" has scored 11 goals against his hosts on Sunday while playing La Liga fixtures, which could be a good sign for them ahead of Sunday's meeting.
Luis Enrique, the man who led Los Culés to their second treble in history, denied feeling any pressur prior to this game, since the team is used to perform correctly when no one expects much from them.
"We have high hopes of achieving bigger and better things. We are just where we want to be at this point of the season, and even though we have taken a couple of blows, this team loves to rise to the occasion. We will be there to fight for the title, as we did last year," the coach revealed.
This will be the third game in the past few days between these two sides. Will Athletic be able to stun Barcelona once more? Or will Messi & Co. set things right after their Super Copa loss? Don't miss this match with the info provided by LiveSoccerTV.com .
Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona team sheets
Athletic Bilbao's First XI: Iraizoz, De Marcos, Balenziaga, Laporte, Elustondo, Beñat, Rico, Eraso, Susaeta, Aduriz, Sabin Merino
Barcelona's First XI: Bravo, Rakitic, Sergio, Alves, Iniesta, Suarez, Messi, Rafinha, Mascherano, Alba, Vermaelen
Barcelona's bench: Ter Stegen, Bartra, Munir, Sandro, S. Roberto, Camara, Gumbau
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