Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao Spanish Super Cup: Live Stream, Preview, Lineups, Schedule, Predictions
Barcelona will look to win its second trophy of 2015-16 when it takes on Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.
Barcelona is coming off a 5-4 win against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup, a match that it once led 4-1. Bilbao will have undoubtedly noticed Barcelona's often shambolic defense throughout the game and will look to exploit.
The team will also be wary of Barcelona's intense offense, which featured two free kick goals from Lionel Messi and another from Luis Suárez. Neymar was out of the proceedings due to an infection and will likely miss this cup final as well.
It will be interesting to see how Bilbao reacts after losing 3-1 against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final earlier this year. Among the memories from that game will be Messi's screamer, in which he dribbled through four defenders before ripping the ball into the near post. The first leg will be played at the San Mamés, an opportunity to ruin Barcelona's sextuple hopes.
The biggest question for Barcelona will be whether Pedro plays. The Spaniard was left on the bench during the game against Sevilla due to questions over his status with the club. It is believed that he wants to leave to obtain more playing time. In his place Rafinha Alcântara scored a goal.
That said, everyone knows that Pedro is the best option up top in the absence of Neymar. He proved it by scoring the winner in Tbilisi against Sevilla and has proven clutch for his club on numerous occasions.
"Nobody knows at the moment if he will start. I won't make my decision based on the market," Luis Enrique stated during a news conference ahead of the match. "He didn't play in Tbilisi because a few days before he had to stop training [with an injury] and it is an unusual and difficult situation."
Enrique added, "It is a contradiction. He wants to stay but he also wants to have more minutes. I will continue to play those that I think are best for each match. What I am looking forward to though is the end of the transfer window so that everything will then be clear."
Messi and Suárez will look to continue their hot start to the season, which has included goals against Sevilla and nominations for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Messi is the heavy front-runner after scoring close to 60 goals in all competitions and putting up 28 assists across all competitions. He scored the Spanish League clinching goal and also scored a fantastic goal against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final. Suárez scored the winner in the Champions League final, a rebound off a Messi blast at Gianluigi Buffon.
The starting lineups are likely to be as follows:
FC Barcelona: ter Stegen, Mascherano, Alves, Piqué, Mathieu; Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitić, Rafinha, Messi, Suárez
Athletic Bilbao: Herrerín, Balenziaga, Laporte, Etxeita, de Marcos, Beñat, San Jose, Aketxe, Eraso Goni, de Moral, Aduriz
Prediction: Barcelona is on shorter rest heading into this game and the early signs of fatigue will shine through on the road. Expect a 1-1 draw or a 2-1 win for Athletic Bilbao.
The game starts at 4p.m. EDT and can be viewed on ESPN Deportes, the ESPN3 app or Fox Soccer 2 Go.
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