Barcelona vs. Athletic Club Prediction, Picks, XIs for La Liga – 8/27/26

Thursday’s La Liga match between Barcelona and Athletic Club is set to kick off at 3:00 p.m. ET. Barcelona enters the La Liga match as significant favorites on their home pitch, with a 1.19x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks.

The reigning champions of Spain opened their 2026-27 La Liga campaign with a 5-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. Barcelona will now take on Athletic Bilbao in their first home game of the season.

Bilbao suffered a 3-1 defeat to open their season and enters today’s contest as weighty underdogs. Barcelona has defeated Athletic Club in six straight matches across all competitions coming into today.

Below, we'll break down our Barcelona vs. Athletic Club prediction and picks for Thursday's La Liga match, including the La Liga winner payouts, total goals, and top La Liga picks for PrizePicks today.

Make your Barcelona vs. Athletic Club prediction on PrizePicks now!

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Barcelona vs. Athletic Club Prediction, Spread, Total Goals for La Liga – Thursday, August 27

Barcelona picked up right where they left off as they began their pursuit of a third consecutive La Liga title. The Catalans' revamped attack had little trouble dispatching Elche in the opening match of the season, and they now turn their attention to an Athletic Club side that mightily struggled in Matchday 1.

Hansi Flick's new signings, F Karim Adeyemi and LW Anthony Gordon, contributed to goals in their first official appearances as Barcelona players and could prove key should the club complete the three-peat come the season's end.

Despite the new arrivals impressing on debut, it was Brazilian F Raphinha who stole the show in Barcelona's opener. The 29-year-old began his fifth season at the club with 2 goals and an assist against Elche and could be returning to his very best after an injury-hit 2025-26 campaign.

Raphinha faces a familiar opponent in Athletic Club today, having scored twice against them in a Supercopa de España clash at the start of the year. Bilbao's defense showed significant vulnerabilities in their opener, and a Barcelona attack that looked as sharp as it did last weekend could be a serious problem for Terzić's side.

Edin Terzić's team conceded 3 goals to a Sevilla side that narrowly survived relegation last season by a single point, though an early red card certainly played a role in the outcome. Even so, Bilbao managed to dominate possession and simply allowed Sevilla to capitalize on the few chances they created.

That is a major concern heading into today because, unlike Sevilla, Barcelona will create chances in abundance. Spain's World Cup-winning GK Unai Simón saved just 2 of Sevilla's 4 shots on target and finished with -1.35 goals prevented in his opener. The 2026 World Cup Golden Glove winner will need to be considerably better against the most dangerous attack in La Liga.

Barcelona vs. Athletic Club Favorite to Win, Spread, Total Goals – Thursday, August 27

Barcelona enters Thursday’s game as home favorites against Athletic Bilbao, returning a 1.19x payout if they win outright, via PrizePicks Team Picks.

Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao will look to pull off a massive upset as underdogs on the road, with their 10x payout reflecting just how overmatched they seem to be.

Here are the full payouts for the Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao game on PrizePicks.

Make your Barcelona vs. Athletic Club prediction on the spread or total goals on PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money—available in 36 states!

Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.

Barcelona vs. Athletic Club Prediction on Total Goals – 8/27/26

Here are the key game stats and trends behind our Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao prediction on total goals for the La Liga match on Thursday, August 27.

• Both Barcelona and Athletic Club finished with over 3.5 total goals in their respective openers this season, with each side registering over 10 shots on the day.
• Barcelona created a league-high 9 big chances in their season opener and converted 5 of them against Elche.
• Despite playing with 10 men from the 11th minute, Athletic Club still generated 1.37 xG on 18 total shots, with 8 on target and 2 big chances created while undermanned.
• Barcelona allowed just 2 shots on target en route to a clean sheet in the opener and have now kept five consecutive clean sheets against Athletic Club across all competitions.
• Only one of the last five La Liga meetings between these sides has produced over 3.5 total goals heading into today.

Lock in your Barcelona vs. Athletic Club prediction on PrizePicks before kickoff.

Barcelona vs. Athletic Club Projected Lineups

Take a look at the Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao projected lineups for today's La Liga match. Lineups are not official and should be confirmed before match start.

Barcelona Lineup vs. Athletic Club: Projected 4-2-3-1

Goalkeeper: Joan García

Defense: Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martín, Eric García, Xavi Espart

Midfield: Pedri, Marc Bernal, Fermín López

Forwards: Raphinha, Anthony Gordon, Lamine Yamal

Athletic Club Lineup vs. Barcelona: Projected 3-4-1-2

Goalkeeper: Unai Simón

Defense: Aymeric Laporte, Aitor Paredes, Yeray Álvarez 

Midfield: Álex Berenguer, Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Beñat Gerenabarrena, Hugo Rincón

Forwards: Peio Canales, Iñaki Williams, Gorka Guruzeta

Barcelona vs. Athletic Club Picks, Player Stats for PrizePicks: 8/27/26

Here are Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao picks to target for La Liga on PrizePicks for Thursday, August 27. Today’s La Liga picks include Lamine Yamal and Unai Simón.

Barcelona F Lamine Yamal vs. Athletic Club: 1.5 Shots on Target

• Yamal came off after just 65 minutes against Elche in the opener, managing 2 shots and 1 big chance created without registering a goal contribution.
• The 19-year-old was Barcelona's sole scorer in their 1-0 victory over Athletic Club late last season, finishing that match with just 1 shot on target.
• Yamal led Barcelona with 1.3 shots on target per game in La Liga last season. Despite the slow start to the new campaign, expect the star right-winger to be more aggressive today.

Add Lamine Yamal to your PrizePicks Lineup now.

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Athletic Club GK Unai Simón vs. Barcelona: 34.5 Passes Attempted

• Simón has had the luxury of playing with the majority of possession both at the World Cup and on Matchday 1. The Spanish keeper is comfortable playing out from the back when his team controls the ball.
• He finished with 49 passes attempted against Sevilla but will likely see far less of the ball against Barcelona today. He averaged just 27.0 passes per game in his two La Liga appearances against Barça last season.
• Elche's goalkeeper Matías Dituro finished Matchday 1 with 52 passes attempted against Barcelona. With the reigning champions at home this week, expect even greater possession dominance from Flick's side.

Add Unai Simón to your PrizePicks Lineup now.

Make Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao Predictions for La Liga on PrizePicks

Barcelona will look to stay perfect in La Liga with another dominant performance when they host Athletic Club on Thursday, August 27, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, Athletic Club hopes to bounce back from a difficult opening defeat against one of Europe's most dangerous attacks. 

Don’t wait until kickoff—make your Barcelona vs. Athletic Club picks for Thursday’s La Liga match now on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money. 

Just pick your La Liga players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if you’re right. With Team Picks, you can make predictions on match winner, total goals, and both teams to score—now available in 36 states. 

Stay locked in with the Playbook for continued soccer and La Liga predictions, picks, and analysis.