PREVIEW: History favours Barcelona in bid to restore four-point gap to Real Madrid against Bilbao

San Mamés will stage another chapter of a lopsided modern rivalry on Sunday when Athletic Club host LaLiga leaders Barcelona, aware that recent history offers them little encouragement. The Catalan giants have beaten Athletic in each of their last 12 league meetings, including a 4-0 rout at Camp Nou earlier this campaign and January’s 5-0 Super Cup demolition in Riyadh. That sequence is uppermost in Hansi Flick’s mind as his side look to rebound from a shock 1-0 home loss to Getafe and re-establish the four-point cushion that was trimmed to one when Real Madrid overcame Celta Vigo 2-1.

Barça enter the weekend on 64 points, their title credentials burnished by a league-best defensive record yet now stretched by a spate of rearguard absences. Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde and Alejandro Baldé are all injured, while midfield metronome Frenkie de Jong remains unavailable. The makeshift back line will confront an Athletic side that has rediscovered its verve: Ernesto Valverde’s men have taken 15 points from the last 18, the highlight a 4-1 dismantling of Villarreal that showcased their outside hopes of gate-crashing the European places.

Athletic’s surge—five wins in six league outings—has lifted them from 13th in late January to the fringe of the continental conversation. Their unbeaten streak, however, has been compiled largely against the division’s lower reaches, and they will be without influential winger Nico Williams, defender Unai Egiluz and suspended centre-back Yeray Álvarez. Valverde hopes the fervour of a packed San Mamés, coupled with lingering memories of past Barça beatings, can inspire a statement result.

A victory for the visitors would propel them to 67 points and restore the desired breathing space over Madrid, while three points for the Basques could vault them as high as seventh, within touching distance of the Europa Conference League berth. Yet the weight of history, the gap in squad depth and Barcelona’s acute need to respond after a rare slip combine to make Athletic’s task a formidable one.