How will Barca’s return to Camp Nou go?
After two and a half years, FC Barcelona celebrates its long-awaited return to Camp Nou this weekend. In front of a limited crowd of up to 45,000 spectators, the Catalans will play in their own stadium for the first time since May 2023. On Saturday afternoon, they will host another well-staffed Champions League participant, who, however, has not won a single competitive match in the soccer temple of “Gaudí’s city” since 2001. For the upcoming duel between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, betting on the underdog from the Basque Country is also not one of my favorite betting options.
So far this season, coach Ernesto Valverde’s team has fallen short of its own expectations, currently sitting in seventh place in La Liga and already eight points behind the top four. The “Los Leones” (the Lions) are particularly struggling away from home. They have picked up just four points from five away games in the Spanish top flight. Across all competitions, the Red and Whites have been waiting for three points in six competitive away games. Five of these six games in opposing stadiums were even lost.
In my opinion, the fact that a prediction of both teams scoring makes sense between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao is primarily due to the home team rather than the visitors. Barca last kept a clean sheet on September 21. In the last ten games involving FCB, a bet on “both teams to score” would have always been correct.
Basically, however, the star ensemble from Catalonia is happy to accept the role of favorite. Especially at home, where they have celebrated five wins with 16:3 goals in five La Liga games. It is not to be expected that anything fundamental will change after the move from the Olympic Stadium to Camp Nou.
Barcelona – Athletic Bilbao Head-to-head record
The head-to-head record paints a very clear picture in favor of Flick’s team. Bilbao last beat the Catalan giants in La Liga in 2019. Athletic’s La Liga victories in the last 25 years can actually be counted on one hand. The Basques’ last away win at Camp Nou was exactly 25 years ago. This explains the one-sided Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao betting odds on the three-way market.
Last season, Barca won both legs of the Supercopa and the semi-final. In only three of the last ten direct encounters has Athletic Club been able to score at least one goal. I am confident that this will change on Saturday afternoon at the modernized Camp Nou, which will seat 105,000 people after the renovation is complete.
Barcelona – Athletic Bilbao Tip
There is once again unrest at FC Barcelona these days. In particular, the Catalan club management’s alleged request to Robert Lewandowski from last season to please not score any more goals in order to save themselves a contractually agreed bonus is causing a lot of discussion. The same applies to Lamine Yamal’s groin injury, which has recently forced him to watch from the sidelines time and time again.
However, I expect the talent of the century to be on the pitch this weekend. Just like his national team mate Nico Williams on the other side, by the way! The speedy attacker is also a potential goalscorer against the risky FCB defense.
In general, I think it’s a good idea to bet on both teams scoring between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao. I really like Admiralbet’s 1.70 odds, so I’m willing to risk five units on this bet. Alternatively, other over bets could yield a nice profit. The over 2.5 brings a peak of 1.50. At least two goals in the first 45 minutes, on the other hand, even yields a maximum odds of 2.25.
