Athletic Club vs Barcelona – Match preview and team news

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The Football Faithful

·7 Maret 2026

Athletic Club vs Barcelona – Match preview and team news

Barcelona visit San Mams as they face Athletic Club in La Liga on Saturday.

Barcelona arrive in Bilbao as title contenders under Hansi Flick, having won their last match and leading the second-placed Real Madrid by one point in the La Liga table and have a chance to extend their lead back to four points.

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Athletic Club vs Barcelona – Match preview and team news

Date: Saturday, 7th March.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
Venue: Estadio de San Mames, Bilbao.

Athletic Club team news

Athletic Club are dealing with several absentees. Benat Prados (ACL), Maroan Sannadi (knee) and Nico Williams (groin) are all ruled out, confirming that none of them will feature against Barcelona.

In defence, Unai Egiluz is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury and is not available, while Yeray Álvarez is serving a suspension related to a doping case, leaving Valverde short of options at centre‑back.

Aitor Paredes is also out until mid-March due to his muscle injury. Dorkar Guruzera is expected to lead the line with Oihan Sancet supporting him in attack alongwith Inaki Williams and Unai Gomez.

Barcelona team news

Barcelona’s injury list is also substantial as Gavi (knee), Andreas Christensen (knee), Alejandro Balde (thigh), Frenkie de Jong (hamstring) and Jules Kounde (thigh) are all sidelined.

In attack, Robert Lewandowski sustained a fracture to his left eye socket during a recent La Liga game against Villarreal, but he is now back in training and might as well be involved in some way against Athletic Club.

In the absence of Kounde and Balde, Eric Garcia and Gerard Martin are expected to play as the wingback while Ronald Araujo is coming in at the role of CB, although Joao Cancelo is another option for Hansi Flick.

Form

Athletic Club

Athletic Club are currently positioned 9th in the La Liga table with 35 points from 26 matches.

They come into this match after their Copa Del Rey semifinal loss against Real Sociedad in midweek. The good thing is they are unbeaten in their last five league games with their latest being a draw against Rayo Vallecano (1-1) away from home.

Barcelona

Across all competitions, Barcelona’s last few games show a strong response to a brief dip in form. A 0–4 Copa del Rey defeat away to Atletico Madrid on 12 February, followed by a 1–2 LaLiga loss at Girona on 16 February.

Since then, however, they have beaten Levante 3–0 at home on 22 February, Villarreal 4–1 at home on 28 February, and Atletico Madrid 3–0 at home in the Copa del Rey on 3 March.

Barcelona currently lead the LaLiga 2025/26 table with 64 points from 26 games, one point ahead of Real Madrid. Their league record stands at 21 wins, 1 draw and 4 defeats, with 71 goals scored and 26 conceded for a goal difference of +45.