Football is a beautiful game and trust you me, most times the fun of this game is in the frenzy, uncertainty and tension it generates. Just like most leagues, it's no more a rollercoaster ride for teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain as it used to be few years back. Recent times have seen the Spanish duo dominance watered down by the resilience of supposed underdog clubs, in other words, Los Blancos and Blaugrana have to work hard to stay on the winning side as each game goes by. In 48 hours time or thereabout, the laliga defending Champions will be locking horns with Athletic Bilbao in their Copa del rey quarter Fina tie to determine who progresses to the next round. Bilbao are coming off a 2-0 home defeat to a highflying Getafe side. That loss have further punctured their quest of booking a European spot as they are now sitting 9th on the table with 31 points from 22 games. However, they still have hope of lifting a domestic silverware this season which is the Copa Del Rey, but they will have to pass through a big huddle to keep that quest alive. Bilbao had booked a spot in the Copa quarters Final after beating a lower division side Tenerife in the round of 16 through a penalty shootout. With Barcelona standing in between them and the Semis, Bilbao will only need to replicate their last feat against the Spanish giants in their last encounter that saw them beat Barcelona 1-0.
At the end is a Barcelona side that is coming off a 2-1 win over Levante in their last game. May not have been a typical and convincing win for the Catalan giants, but it was an all important three points just enough to boost their morale ahead of their Copa quarters final clash with Bilbao and also enough to maintain their pursuit on Real Madrid for the league title. It's worthy to note that Barcelona picked a Spot in the Copa quarters final after their stellar 5-0 victory over Leganes in the round of 16. A performance which seem to have sent a message to domestic fans that the laliga champions are in for the trophy after losing it to Valencia in the last edition. Barca's new boss Setien understands how important this game is for the team if they must keep their quest of treble alive. With Madrid not to far to topple in the league, and the team also warming up ahead of their crucial Champions league adventure with Napoli, a win over Bilbao to progress to Copa Del Rey semi final will boost the team's confidence and I don't see them gambling that. The league Champions are going into the game without their favorite center forward Luis Suarez who has been out for some time now due to injury, will be hoping Antonie Grizemann will be at his best as he was against Ibizi few weeks ago. With the talismanic Lionel Messi onboard to control navigation of play for Barca, it will be difficult not to put my money on them.
My Prediction: Athletic 1-2 Barcelona
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