Athletic Club vs Barcelona Prediction: Los Leones to give Barca a scare

The Supercopa de Espana once more heads to warm climbs with Jeddag in Saudi Arabia the host for the tournament with the first semi-final taking place at 19:00 UK time on Wednesday evening. As of the time of writing, there is no live UK TV coverage for this match.

Our Spanish-based football expert Mark Sochon previews the action and picks out his two Best Bets for the game as he gives us his Athletic Club vs Barcelona Predictions...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

The Supercopa de España kicks off on Wednesday, with Barcelona taking on Athletic Club in the first semi-final. 

It's the sixth time the competition has taken on a four-team format and the fifth time it will be played in Saudi Arabia, with Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City the setting for all three matches. 

For Barcelona, the Supercopa is a chance for something of a reset following a serious decline in their form at the end of 2024. Hansi Flick's side have won just one of their last seven games in La Liga, a run of results which has left them behind both Madrid clubs and five points off the top. 

Almost inexplicable home defeats against Las Palmas and Leganés have contributed to that unlikely state of affairs, while Alexander Sørloth's 95th minute strike for Atlético Madrid condemned Barça to a third straight home loss to close out last year. 

More bad news has followed for the Catalan giants, with Spain's football authorities rejecting the club's attempts to register summer signing Dani Olmo and young forward Pau Victor for the second half of the campaign. 

That leaves Olmo, a €55m addition in August, in a state of limbo and potentially needing to leave the club this month if he wants to avoid spending a prolonged period on the sidelines. 

It's therefore a typically chaotic backdrop to this match for Barcelona, although they did at least have something to cheer at the weekend. A brace from Robert Lewandowski helped them to a 4-0 Copa del Rey victory over minnows Barbastro and a positive start to 2025 on the pitch. 

Despite Barça's current problems, Athletic Club head into this match as the underdogs, but they can take confidence from Supercopa victories over this opposition in 2015 and 2021. 

They can also take plenty of belief from their current form. Under the guidance of former Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde, Athletic are unbeaten in 15 matches in all competitions in a run that stretches way back to October when they missed three penalties in a 2-1 defeat at Girona. 

Had they converted just one of those spot-kicks, we'd be talking about a side unbeaten since August and that's a measure of the task that may await Flick's side in Jeddah on Wednesday night. 

Athletic are only one place and two points behind Barcelona in the latest La Liga standings. They've impressively managed to juggle the demands of a first European campaign in seven years, with Los Leones also sitting pretty in second place in the Europa League table, with 16 points from six games in that competition. 

The likes of Dani Vivian and Oihan Sancet have really stepped up this season to help form a strong spine to an Athletic side that can count on the pace and trickery of the Williams brothers on the two flanks. 

Like their opponents, Athletic have played one match so far in 2025. They were taken all the way to penalties by third tier UD Logroñés in the Copa del Rey after a goalless draw at Las Gaunas on Saturday. However, the cup holders held their nerve to win a comical shootout which saw several players struggle to keep their footing around the penalty spot. 

Team News: 

Uncertainty surrounds Barcelona as they head to Saudi Arabia. Despite their current ineligibility, Olmo and Victor have both travelled to the Middle East. Lamine Yamal was also on the plane, despite the ankle injury he suffered last month, with the teenager potentially fit enough to play some part in this game. 

Flick is expected to name a strong eleven, with Raphinha, Pau Cubarsí, Alejandro Balde, Marc Casadó and Iñaki Peña likely to return after the German opted for rotation in the Copa del Rey last time out. 

As for Athletic, they are sweating over the fitness of three players heading into this match, with Oihan Sancet, Íñigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Yeray Álvarez rated doubtful. Vivian and Aitor Paredes are likely to be preferred to Yeray in central defence in any case, but Valverde will be hoping at least one of Sancet and Ruiz de Galarreta is fit enough to start in midfield. 

Meanwhile, Spain number one Unai Simón has now fully recovered from an injury that saw him miss the opening months of the season. He's likely to be preferred to Julen Agirrezabala in goal. 

Nico Williams also trained on the sidelines on Tuesday due to an ankle knock, although it was believed to only be a precautionary measure. 

Athletic Club vs Barcelona Odds

Barcelona start as the 4/5 favourites to win this game, with Athletic Club available at 11/4, while the Draw is priced at 13/5. 

In a change from previous seasons, there will be no Extra Time if this match finishes level and we'll head straight to penalties. You can back Athletic to win the tie at 13/8, with Barcelona the 4/9 favourites to progress into the final where Real Madrid or Mallorca will lie in wait. 

You can back Over 2.5 goals at 4/6 in this match, with Over 3.5 goals available at 13/8. If you fancy the Catalans to really get into their groove in the final third, you can back Barça to score over 2.5 goals at 5/2, while Barcelona -1.00 Handicap is available at 11/5. 

If you see the side from Bilbao competing well in this game, you can back Athletic or Draw at 19/20, while the Basques are available at 7/4 to score over 1.5 goals. 

Robert Lewandowski is the 7/2 favourite to score first, while you can back the Polish striker to score anytime at 11/10. Raphinha has also been in stunning form this season and the Brazilian is priced at 13/8 to get on the scoresheet. 

From an Athletic perspective, striker Gorka Guruzeta should lead the line and he can be backed at 12/5 to score anytime. 

Bet 1 - Over 2.5 goals & Both teams to score @ 5/6 

Barcelona haven't kept a clean sheet in La Liga since winning El Clásico 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu back in October. That game already seems like an eternity ago given the dramatic decline we've seen from the Catalan side since then and they've had a much harder time defending their high line in recent games. 

With so much pace in their attack, Athletic should certainly pose problems for this Barcelona defence. However, Barça are still creating lots of opportunities with the likes of Pedri and Raphinha putting in some outstanding performances. 

We should get quite an open game here and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Over 2.5 goals and Both teams to score at 5/6. 

Bet 2 - Athletic Club to win either half @ 13/10 

Barcelona have really struggled to put a convincing 90 minutes of football together in recent weeks. Aside from losing four of their last seven in La Liga, they've also collapsed in the latter stages of league games at Celta Vigo and Real Betis during that period, drawing 2-2 in fixtures they looked well on course to win. 

Against an Athletic side that is known for its high pressing and ability to really pen opposing teams into their own half for prolonged periods, Barça may have to dig deep if they are going to win this game. I can see Valverde's side putting at least a strong 45 minutes together in this game, and I'm backing Athletic Club to win either half at 13/10. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...