Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona: Copa del Rey betting preview, free tip & TV details

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

Where to watch

Bookmaker streaming sites, 8pm Thursday

Best bet

Under 2.5 goals
1pt 8-11 general
Back this tip with bet365

Match preview

Barcelona arrive in Bilbao amid talk of a civil war and if they are to negotiate their Copa del Rey quarter-final against Athletic it is likely to come following a tough battle.

Lionel Messi took to Instagram to slam sporting director Eric Abidal this week after the former Barca left-back called out the players for a lack of performances under previous coach Ernesto Valverde.

It has been suggested Valverde's replacement, Quique Setien, has put the players through an intense January training regime which has left Messi struggling with a thigh problem.

Messi has no real option other than to carry the side with Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele already on the injured list but performances have generally dipped.

Barca struggled past Granada, Levante and Ibiza and were lifeless in a 2-0 defeat at Valencia. They beat Leganes 5-0 in the previous round of the Copa but their opponents rested half of their team.

Barcelona are all possession and little penetration – and the last five head-to-heads with Athletic have produced just seven goals so it could pay to back a sixth straight meeting to go under 2.5.

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