Barcelona - Athletic Club. Match preview, probable lineups and fantasy tips. Matchday 1 of LaLiga.

We show the probable lineups and statistical data of interest for your preferred fantasy game.

We also take a bit of a punt and provide you with a captain, a striker, a wall and a risk for each of the teams.

Barcelona - Athletic Club

Match date: 27/08-21:00

FC Barcelona

Barca's great league start as they began their title defence in Elche with a convincing rout that dispelled the few doubts that might have existed around the culé side, and now this is the second match of the three the team will play in these eight days.

The blaugrana squad has the only injury absences of Roony Bardghji and Frenkie de Jong, plus the doubt over Gavi, but Hansi Flick has plenty of options for the home league opener, even though the internationals arrived at the start of the season slightly behind in their preparation, which gave opportunities to some less regular players in Alicante.

The huge competition in the squad has meant the team is firing on all cylinders, and with the match congestion this week, there are multiple possible combinations when it comes to lineups, even though they are still waiting for players like Cubarsí and Rodri to be physically fit and at full strength.

With all that said, the team Flick has available from the start should look quite a lot like the one that thrashed Elche , but it seems clear that Pedri will return to the starting XI after his specific ramp-up plan as a substitute for Gavi and Gordon would have a good chance to freshen up the attack by making his official debut at the Camp Nou. As for the defence, there shouldn't be many changes while they wait for Cubarsí to get up to speed; the clean sheet in the opener gave a confidence boost to those who played at Martínez Valero, and Cancelo still looks a little green in his preparation to be in the starting lineup, although he shouldn't be ruled out.

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Athletic Club

After losing to Sevilla on Edin Terzi?'s debut on the San Mamés bench, Athletic Club will try to put in a better performance in the postponed match of the first matchday against Barcelona. In the game against Sevilla, everything that could go wrong went wrong: a red card in the 10th minute and a goalkeeper error

It is precisely the sending off of Yuri Berchiche, which was quite debatable, that raises doubts about the defence the rojiblancos will field at the Camp Nou. His spot could be taken by Adama Boiro. It is possible that for this clash Laporte and Nico Williams will already be available to start, two hugely important players in the Bilbao squad who always add a step up in quality to the team.

On this occasion, doubts could also crop up in midfield. In the match against Sevilla, the manager opted for the Canales–Sancet duo, a pairing with a lot of quality but that doesn't offer as much defensively as other players such as Jauregizar or Gerenabarrena, to give a couple of examples. Given Barcelona's attacking potential, it could be that both do not repeat in the starting lineup.

Athletic Club will look, at the very least, to improve their feelings in one of the cursed grounds of recent years for them.

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