Tough place to go to consolidate the lead
This weekend will see FC Barcelona travel to the San Mamés stadium to take on Athletic Club (kick-off 9.00pm on March 7). Hansi Flick's side go to Bilbao looking for a win to help get over the pain of Copa del Rey elimination and consolidate the LaLiga lead.
Athletic Club, in form in LaLiga
Barça are set to face an opponent in great form in LaLiga. Albeit they didn't manage to make it through to the Copa del Rey final either, Ernesto Valverde's side are unbeaten in their last five matches in the domestic competition, their best run of the season, with three wins and two draws, putting a poor run of one point from 12 behind them.
Past points to positives for the blaugranes
Previous clashes between the sides point to positives for FC Barcelona. The blaugranes have taken points from 10 of the last 11 away matches against Athletic Club in LaLiga, with seven wins, three draws and one defeat. The most recent visit in May 2025 ended in a resounding 0-3 victory.
FC Barcelona have also won all of their last five matches against Athletic Club in all competitions, scoring 16 goals and just conceding one.
What's more, Athletic Club haven't managed to beat Barça in any of the past 12 games, with two draws and 10 defeats, and going goalless in seven of the last eight meetings. The last victory came in 2019, a 1-0 win when Gaizka Garitano was coach.
All the same, Hansi Flick have the challenge of making into two LaLiga wins in a row at the San Mamés stadium, something they haven't managed to achieve with four in a row from 2015 to 2017. It is likely to be a tough task.