Barcelona will be locking horns with Athletic Bilbao on Friday and with both the teams hungry for silverware this season, the tie looks very enthralling.
Bilbao have had a great season under Marcelo Bielsa. It is true that they couldn’t really achieve their season targets, but taking a team like Bilbao to the final of the Europa League and the Copa del Rey is something which is not easy for every manager.
However, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011, Barcelona, when the Copa del
Rey final kicks off on Friday.
On the other hand, Barcelona have had a terrible season. They lost to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 in the UEFA Champions League. From being the best side in the world, to not winning a single trophy in Europe this season, Barcelona are definitely going to try and beat Bilbao
in order to clinch at least the Copa del Rey as a consolation.
Moreover, their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, won the Spanish La Liga and Barcelona couldn’t do much about it.
However, this isn’t the loss which http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 are going to rue the most. The loss of their head coach, Josep Guardiola, is going to cost them a lot in the future as the Catalan mentor recently announced that he will not be a part of Barcelona after this season.
The Copa del Rey final is going to be Josep Guardiola’s last game as the coach of La Blaugrana and that is the reason why the final has a lot of significance for the Barcelona players, who want to give a departing gift to their legendary coach, who helped
them win 13 titles during his 4-year reign.
Team News: Barcelona
Barcelona are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. The Catalan giants have picked up 3 wins and 2 draws since they last suffered a loss.
The former Spanish champions are also the most successful team in the history of Copa del Rey, as they have won 25 titles of the domestic Cup.
This season when Barcelona faced Bilbao in the league, La Blaugrana won 2-0 at home and drew 2-2 away from home.
If Josep Guardiola is to win the title, it will be his 14th during his 4-year spell at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona are going to be without three of their first-choice defenders. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Daniel-c9879 Alves will not be present in the right-back role due to his
respective injury. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Villa-c10629 and Andreu Fontas are also unavailable because of their respective injuries.
Therefore, the expected Barcelona line-up is:
Jose http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alexis-Sánchez-c4979.
Team News: Athletic Bilbao
Bilbao are currently on a five-match winless streak in all competitions and have not scored a single goal in those games.
The Copa del Rey final against Barcelona is going to be more interesting because Bilbao are the second most successful side in the history of the competition with 23 wins. However, the last time they won the competition was back in 1984.
The two sides have come across each other in the final of the tournament 6 times and Barcelona have won 4 while Bilbao have won 2.
Currently Bilbao will not only be fighting for the Copa del Rey trophy, but also for a group-stage spot in the Europa League.
Bilbao currently do not have any injured players and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ander-Iturraspe-c5544, despite having a virus earlier this week, will start for the San Mames-based outfit.
The expected line-up for Bilbao is:
Iraizoz; Iraola, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iker-Muniain-c16816.
Prediction:
Since Barcelona are going to play at their level best not only because they are hungry for silverware, but also because it is Guardiola’s last game in charge of the Nou Camp-based outfit, they are expected to win the match by a good margin.
Bilbao are currently not in the best of forms while Barcelona have finally shown that they are definitely one of the best sides in the history of the game.
After the fixture, Barcelona are expected to pick the trophy with the final score-line 4-1 in favour of Barcelona.
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