The last match before facing Real Madrid: this is Barça's XI to face Athletic Bilbao

After the international break of October, Barcelona will have a very important week with three matches that will be decisive for the near future. The first one will be this Sunday in Montjuic against Athletic Bilbao for La Liga. Then, on Wednesday, they will face Shakhtar Donetsk also in Catalonia for the Champions League Group H. And next Saturday, October 28, they will play the first 'Clasico' of the season against Real Madrid.

Coach Xavi Hernandez knows that they must go step by step. The first objective will be to beat Athletic Bilbao and get three points that will allow them to get closer to the top of the standings. Leaders Real Madrid drew 1-1 against Sevilla on Saturday and were overtaken by Girona, who beat Almeria 5-2. In addition, Atletico Madrid got a 3-0 win against Celta and with 22 points are only 3 points off the top with a game in hand. Barcelona have 21 and if they win, they will be just one point behind the leaders.

For this game the manager will not reserve anything and will field the best possible team. Obviously he will not be able to count on the full squad, as important players like Robert Lewandwoski, Raphinha, Frenkie De Jong, Jules Koundé and Pedri are injured.

Los Blaugranas' starting lineup will be: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; Joao Cancelo, Andreas Christensen, Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde; Gavi, Oriol Romeu, Ilkay Gundogan; Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres, Joao Felix.

They are also close

Athletic Bilbao's performances in the 2023/24 La Liga season have been satisfactory. They have won 5 games, drawn 2 and lost 2, which allows them to be in sixth place in the standings with 17 points, 4 less than Barcelona. Coach Ernesto Valverde decided that the starting lineup will be: Unai Simon; Oscar De Marcos, Dani Vivian, Aitor Paredes, Yuri; Dani Garcia, Ander Herrera, Iñaki Williams, Ohian Sancet, Nico Williams; Gorka Guruzeta.