Athletic Bilbao hosts Barcelona in the Spanish Copa del Rey 1/8 finals. The match will be played on Thursday, January 20th at Estadio San Mamés (Bilbao)
On January 16, Athletic Bilbao played against Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup. The Basques showed their worth but were defeated with a score of 2-0. Still, a difference in class played its role. By the way, after that defeat to the Whites, a streak of four matches without defeats in all tournaments was interrupted (three victories and one draw). Athletic Bilbao performs quite successfully in the Spanish Cup. The team managed to win this trophy 24 times. In 14 finals, the Basques were content with silver medals. As for the current draw of this tournament, the Lions have played only one match so far. They were stronger than Mancha away (0-2). Three last cup matches of the Basques ended with “Both teams to score — no.”
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Barcelona also took part in the Spanish Super Cup. But the Catalans were knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals, losing to Real Madrid with a score of 3-2. That defeat ended their 6-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. Xavi Hernandez's men have also played only one match in the current Copa del Rey. They faced Deportivo Linares, and the representative of Primera Division RFEF was beaten with a score of 1-2. Five out of six Barcelona's previous matches in the cup ended with Over 2.5 goals scored. In the last six away games, the Catalans suffered only one defeat from Sevilla last season (2-0).
The upcoming match will be the 235th in the history of head-to-head confrontations between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. The Basques gained 79 victories, and the Catalans won 116 times. In the first round of the current championship of Spain, these teams failed to determine the winner (1-1). Now the Basques will be a little more tired because they played in the Super Cup final. Barca was preparing for the Copa del Rey 1/8 finals at that time. However, do not forget that the Lions have always looked quite good at their native stadium, and the motivation for the upcoming game will be extremely high. Marcelino’s men won’t give a ticket to the quarterfinals without a fight. They will surely find something to offer to the younger and much less experienced players of Xavi. But I admit that we will not see a lot of goals in the upcoming confrontation.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 goals scored
