62% of Barcelona’s matches end with goals from both teams and the average total goals per match is 3.73

In the 25th round of La Liga on March 7, 2026, Athletic and Barcelona will face off. Another “El Clasico” in which Valverde will try to stop his former team.

The team from Bilbao climbed to fourth place in La Liga last season—even while actively participating in the Europa League, where they reached the semifinals. This season, they took part in the Champions League, but that campaign was a failure—they did not reach the playoffs. Simultaneously, they suffered a heavy defeat in the Super Cup against the Catalans. Their performance was much better in the Copa del Rey, but there they immediately lost at home to Real Sociedad in the semifinals. The same 0-1 score was repeated away. Now, they are left trying to save their season in La Liga, where things haven’t gone well since September. There was a recent winning streak. But after beating Elche, they settled for a draw with Rayo Vallecano.

The Catalan giants last season only failed in the Champions League, winning all the “domestic” tournaments. This season seemed poised for even greater successes. So far, they have confidently won the Super Cup. In the Champions League, the knockout stage is only now about to begin. The mood is not the best: by the end of winter, they had lost the lead in La Liga. But then it was Real Madrid’s turn to stumble, and Barcelona responded with confident wins over Levante and Villarreal. In the semifinal, after a 0-4 loss in Madrid, they scored three times against Atletico at home by the middle of the second half—but that was it.

The Basques currently have a clearly negative ratio: 1.15 goals scored per game on average and 1.38 conceded. The reigning national champion now scores 2.73 per match, so even conceding one per game on average is acceptable.

Athletic – Barcelona: Key Stats and Trends
Athletic have won four of their last seven matches
54% of Athletic Bilbao’s matches end with goals from both teams and the average total goals per match is 2.54
Barcelona have won three in a row
62% of Barcelona’s matches end with goals from both teams and the average total goals per match is 3.73
Athletic – Barcelona: Probable Starting Lineups
Athletic (probable lineup): Unai Simon – Berchiche, Laporte, Paredes, Gorosabel – Jaureguizar, Ruiz de Galarreta, I. Williams, Sancet, Serrano – Guruzeta

Barcelona (probable lineup): Garcia – Martin, Eric Garcia, Cubarsi, Kounde – Olmo, de Jong, Fermin Lopez – Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Yamal

Previous Matches: Athletic – Barcelona
The 5-0 win in the Super Cup was the fifth consecutive “El Clasico” victory for de Jong and company, with four of those matches featuring clean sheets.