Our prediction for this Primera Division match:
All eyes will be on San Mames when Athletic Club and Barcelona face each other in the La Liga round 25. The Lions aim to put an end to their three-game winless run, but they face an uphill task in Sunday’s showdown. Defender Yeray Alvarez is back from suspension, but midfielder Oihan Sancet is banned for the match following his sending off in a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano. Both Unai Simon and Jon Morcillo remain in the recovery room, while Ander Herrera is a major doubt.
Barca, on the other hand, are still without top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who is struggling with a hamstring problem, with Pedri and Ousmane Dembele missing out as well. Since important defender Ronald Araujo is banned for the match, the league leaders should be happy with one point from Sunday’s derby. In their last meeting at San Mames the two teams played out a 1-1 draw.
Highlighted Player (Robert Lewandowski):
After scoring 36 goals in 59 league games for Znicz Pruskow, Robert Lewandowski joined Lech Poznan in June, 2008. The 184-cm-tall attacker scored 18 goals in 28 appearances for the club in the 2009/2010 Ekstraklasa campaign and during the season he was on Borussia Dortmund’s radar.
The Polish forward signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga side in June, 2010 and he quickly established himself as the team’s key attacker. Lewandowski was producing excellent performances with the Millionaires between 2010 and 2014 and it has to be noted that he won two Bundesliga trophies with the club (2010/2011, 2011/2012). He participated in the 2012/2013 Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund, but the Millionaires were beaten by fellow Bundesliga side Bayern Munich in the title game.
However, he betrayed Borussia Dortmund fans in 2014 as he signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga giants. Lewandowski impressed in the 2016/2017 Bundesliga campaign as he scored 30 goals in 32 league games for Pep Guardiola’s troops. The Polish footballer represented his homeland at Euro 2016 in France and he scored one goal at the showpiece tournament in France.
Highlighted Team (Athletic Bilbao):
Athletic Club (mostly known as Athletic de Bilbao) is a Spanish football club from the Bask region which is playing currently in the Primera Division. The club from Bilbao is playing in the highest Spanish division since its founded in 1928 and is next to Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for a longest period of time in the Primera Division. Athletic de Bilbao used to play until 2012 in the San Mames stadium (also known as La Catedral).
Since 2013 the club is playing in anew stadium. Athletic Bilbao is known for its rivalry with Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid was founded by Bask students in Madrid. The old relationship between both teams is visible in the red blue jerseys of both teams.
The second team Athletic de Bilbao is playing in the Segunda Division B in Spain. Athletic Bilbao won the Primera Division 8 times, the Copa del Rey 24 times, the Spanish super cup 2 times. Athletic de Bilbao didn’t won any prizes in Europe yet but managed to be the runner up in 1977 and 2012 in the UEFA cup.