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The Spanish Super Cup is underway! Barcelona and Athletic Club raise the curtain on a tournament that has gained significant prestige since its change in format. Hansi Flick’s side come into the competition as leaders of LaLiga, while Ernesto Valverde’s men have slipped away from the European spots in recent weeks.
A resurgent Barça, an Athletic in crisis
Barcelona arrive in Saudi Arabia in excellent form and are aiming to repeat their domestic treble. They top LaLiga with 49 points, five ahead of Real Madrid, and have racked up nine consecutive wins since the October Clásico, with only a defeat to Chelsea and a draw with Club Brugge across all competitions.
Their recent derby win over Espanyol, with key saves from Joan Garcia and goals from Dani Olmo and Lewandowski, has boosted their confidence. Real Madrid have won 13 Super Cups and are looking to close the gap on Barça, who lead the honours list with 15 titles.
Athletic are not at their best. After a perfect start to the league, they have won just one of their last five official matches and only three of the last ten. They have suffered demoralising defeats against Barça, Real Madrid, Celta and Espanyol, and have had several goalless draws in Europe.
Their main problem is up front, having failed to score more than once per game in their recent outings. Even so, they are the third most successful team in the Super Cup, with three titles, level with Deportivo.
Barcelona v Athletic: Wednesday 7 January, 19:00 GMT
Lamine Yamal to assist or score at any time - 8/15 @ bet365
Unai Simón over 2.5 saves - 4/7 @ bet365
Over 2.5 goals - 8/15 @ bet365
Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at the time of publication and subject to change.
Athletic, a regular victim of Lamine
Despite his young age (18), Yamal has already recorded 7 goals and 7 assists in Spain’s top division this season, and last year he scored 18 goals across all competitions. His upcoming opponent is one of the teams he tends to perform well against.
Against Athletic Bilbao, he has already delivered 3 goals and 2 assists. With the current uncertainty surrounding the Basque side, backing Yamal to score again looks like a very interesting and valuable bet.
Tip: Lamine Yamal to assist or score at any time - 8/15 @ bet365
Bet explanation: If Lamine Yamal scores a goal or provides an assist against Athletic, this bet will be a winner.
Unai is always kept busy
Lamine isn’t the only threat in Barcelona’s attack. Hansi Flick has an impressive arsenal, including Lewandowski, Raphinha, Rashford, Ferran, Fermín and Pedri - a line-up of stars that suggests Unai Simón won’t be leaving the pitch with clean gloves, so the number of saves he makes is a market well worth considering.
Much of Athletic’s hope of reaching the Spanish Super Cup final rests on his shoulders, and this team is used to seeing their keeper busy. Unai Simón made more than two saves in five of his last seven matches, against Osasuna, PSG, Atlético de Madrid, Real Madrid and Levante.
Against Barcelona last November, he also made three, and he reached four against teams with similar attacking power, such as Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal in the Champions League, and Villarreal in LaLiga.
Tip: Unai Simón over 2.5 saves - 4/7 @ bet365
Bet explanation: This bet will be a winner if Unai Simón makes three or more saves in this semi-final against Barcelona, counting only regular time.
An entertaining match in store
To round off this article, let’s focus on goals. Athletic might not seem the best team to back for high-scoring games, but Barcelona's form and recent history between these two sides point in that direction. In three of the last four meetings with the Catalans, there have been at least three goals.
That was the case in the 4-0 last November, the 3-0 in May 2025, and the 2-1 in August 2024. And although the Catalans have scored two goals in each of their last four matches, the overall trend this season is quite different.
After drawing 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano on 31 August, there were three or more goals in 19 consecutive Barça matches, right before the win over Osasuna that started the run of 2-0 results, which has continued against Guadalajara, Villarreal and Espanyol.
These two clubs have also produced lively encounters in this competition, with five of their eight Spanish Super Cup meetings seeing over 2.5 goals.
Tip: Over 2.5 goals - 8/15 @ bet365
Bet explanation: For this bet to win, there must be at least three goals scored in total in this match.
Barcelona vs Athletic Club Odds
Athletic Club win - 19/4 @ bet365
Odds correct at the time of publication and subject to change.
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Odds correct at the time of publication and subject to change.