Turning the page. After a very demanding match on Tuesday, when Barça’s 3-0 victory over Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey proved insufficient, the team now faces another major test in La Liga with a visit to San Mamés, the home of Athletic Club Bilbao.

In the pre-match press conference, Hansi Flick said of the Basque side that they “have a fantastic team” and stressed that he is not focusing on the earlier meetings this season, which ended in two heavy Barça wins. “The situation is very different. We’re playing away, and at home they are a different team,” he said, adding that his own side “is doing well. The atmosphere and attitude are fantastic, and the performances in training are also very good.”

Barça will face the game with two more absences, Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde, though the coach sees this as “normal when you play so many matches. We’ll have to manage it. It gives other players the opportunity.”

The aim is to secure three points that would at least maintain the four-point lead over Real Madrid. It is a good advantage, more than a single match, but Flick warned that the points are “important, but not decisive yet,” since “there is still a long way to go until the end of May.”

Robert Lewandowski, who missed Tuesday’s match, is back in the squad, and Gavi is also getting closer to returning. The midfielder will travel with the team but will not yet be included in the match squad as he completes the final stages of his recovery.

Força Barça