- Barcelona have won all five of the last five head-to-head meetings between the two clubs in all competitions.
- Barcelona have scored 2.75 goals per game in all four home games to date.
- Barcelona have won three of their last five games with two defeats.
Barca will test Bilbao's bite
A big LaLiga game awaits on Thursday when Athletic Bilbao head to Spotify Camp Nou to take on FC Barcelona, who are bidding to retain the title.
This preview suggests that Barça are the strong favorites with odds of 1.4, while Los Leones have a good price of 6.75 in the betting and the tie odds are 4.85.
For FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao betting tips, the draw is a possibility because this matchup is a bit like a chess game and it is easy to see Bilbao stifling Barça's momentum for a while.
But eventually, Barça should find a way through, as they did in this fixture last season in LaLiga 2025/2026, winning 1-0 away to a much-changed Bilbao side.
Edin Terzić's team have not won their last game away at Barça and may not have enough bite to compete for the full 90 minutes with Hansi Flick's side.
Flick's full backs make Barca hard to stop
The hosts have won all four home matches, scoring an average of 2.75 goals per game.
In their 2.75 goals per home game, Barça look quick to get forward with the full backs providing plenty of width and Flick's high press keeping the ball away from their own box.
Hamza Abdelkarim has been the spark in their play, with four goals in his last five appearances.
Bilbao are a different beast now and Edin Terzić's men can play a flexible press with plenty of players who can play in the transitional game.
So this could be a chess match and, as mentioned, Bilbao may struggle to match Barça's tempo.
Bilbao can't match Barca's tempo
Los Leones' recent three results read a 3-0 away win at Burgos, an away defeat to Marseille and an away defeat to Atalanta, so they haven't quite got the momentum of Barcelona right now.
Across all competitions, Barca have six wins and four defeats in their last ten, while Bilbao have five wins, two draws and three defeats.
They have a solid away record with five wins and three defeats, conceding just 1.00 goals on average, but if this game is open, which we think it may become, they won't match Barcelona's tempo.
So our FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao prediction is Barca to win and over 2.5 goals, although the odds-on favorite has a good touch of value there, given the goal lines are skewed towards the over with 2.5 at 1.5 and both teams to score at 1.7.
Barca are simply the dominant team in this head-to-head and they will win this game if any team does, so we'll side with them in this matchup.
