Spanish Primera Division – Match Preview: Athletic Bilbao versus Barcelona
Bilbao take on Barcelona in what is expected to be an exciting encounter between the two sides. Barcelona have had a brilliant start to the season, other than losing only one of their five matches so far, the Catalonian giants
have been on a run of wins which has seen them occupy the 4th place spot in the Spanish Primera Division at the moment.
In the summer transfer window of 2010, Barcelona were one the first clubs to make a signing, their first buy of the window was the Valencia striker, David Villa, the deal went through even before the World Cup started off in South
Africa, therefore in doing so, Barcelona saved a lot of money. So far Villa’s purchase has been a masterstroke as Ibrahimovic was sent on loan by Pep Guardiola’s team to A.C Milan. The ex-Juventus striker has since then commenced a war of words with Guardiola,
blaming the Barcelona coach for ruining his dream.
In their first match of the season against Racing Santander, Barcelona were their ruthless self as they finished off the minnows with a comprehensive three goals to nil defeat. A defeat that signalled to everyone else in the Spanish
top football division that, they meant business this season as far as defending their championship crown was concerned. Other reinforcements at the club aside from Villa include Sevilla’s ex-versatile midfielder Adriano. The Brazil has been brought in to provide
cover for the likes of Maxwell at left back and Iniesta/Xavi in midfield. His ability to be the jack of all trades and master of none can prove to be vital for Barcelona’s squad as the season enters into full flow.
Mascherano also arrived at Barcelona but after a long and arduous summer transfer saga. Firstly, Liverpool were unwilling to part with their defensive midfielder then after persistent bids by Barcelona, they agreed to sell but
at quite an inflated price, nonetheless the deal went through but just before the transfer window came to an end on the 1st of September 2010. Mascherano and Adriano have not seen a lot of football with Barcelona this season because Pep Guardiola
has frequently liked to start with his tried and tested starting line up which includes stars like Messi, Villa, Pedro, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.
Barcelona’s only defeat this season has come against the new comers Hercules and that too at their home ground i.e. Nou Camp. A two nil defeat brought the Spanish champions down to earth but they suffered a massive blow in the
shape of Lionel Messi’s injury in their second last Spanish league match against Atletico Madrid. Atletico’s defender, Tomas Ujfalusi stepped on Messi’s ankle as the striker was about to go past him. This resulted in a red card for Tomas and bad ligament damage
for Messi, who is expected to miss the game against Bilbao.
Conversely, Athletic Bilbao have had an average start to the season as they lost their very first match of the season to Hercules but then proceeded onto lose the next La Liga match against Atletico Madrid. Two losses in a row
were detrimental to their morale but Bilbao came back strongly in their third match to achieve a two all draw with Sporting Gijon. In their latest Primera Division match, Bilbao were quite efficient as they dispatched of RCD Mallorca by a margin of three goals
at their home ground.
In Bilbao’s last five meetings with Barcelona, the Catalan club has emerged as winners on three occasions while Bilbao managed to achieve a draw in the remaining two matches. Last season, Bilbao were quite good in this corresponding
fixture as they managed to get a one all draw against the Spanish champions, something that they will be looking to reproduce when Barcelona travel to San Mamés.
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