Barcelona VS Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona host Athletic at Camp Nou for this round 11 clash early Monday morning Beijing time. There is a huge difference in pure class between the two teams. Barcelona are much stronger in all areas of the game. The biggest difference is in offensive capability. They have scored whopping 24 goals - the visitors have netted the ball just 18 times so far in LaLiga this season, however in terms of expected goals (xG) they would have deserved just 16 goals. Barca currently occupy the second place in the standings. The gap to the leaders, Real Madrid, is six point but in terms of expected points(xPTS) the two massive teams would have deserved the same number of points – 24 to be precise. I strongly believe Barca still have a very good chance of fighting for the LaLiga championship. Their defense is, in fact, better than Real Madrid's who have conceded nine goals – Barca have allowed just four. Three of these these were conceded last week-end in El Clasico in Madrid when Real Madrid beat them 3-1. Barca were underdogs in this match on the betting market and whilst I do agree on the fact that Barcelona were not at their best, especially during the first 30-40 minutes of the game. They did, howeve, record more than Real Msdrid in expected goals(xG) 1.81-1.57. They also had 57% ball posession and recorded more goal attempts, shots on goal, passes, completed passes, attacks and dangerous attacks. Indeed, this loss against the reigning LaLiga and Champions League champions was neither a surprise nor something that would make my doubt Barca's chances here. They are vwe

Barca were totally dominant on Thursday at home at home against a pretty good team Villarreal why are currently in 8th place with 15 points creating whopping 3.71 in expected goals. Barca had 70% ball possession and much more goal attempts, shots on goal, passes, completed passes, attacks and dangerous attacks. Villarreal's xG number was just 0.56! Lewandowski was once again on fire and scored twice. He is a players to watch here as well. Barca would have deserved a win in their most recent Champions League match against Inter Milan last Wednesday. They they had 56% ball possession and recorded more goal attempts, shots on goal, passes, completed passes, attacks and dangerous attacks but it was a 3-3 draw after a hugely entertaining and surprisingly open game. Even Inter attacked with some risk and did not just try to defend a draw. The visitors have been surprisingly good this season but traditionally struggle on the road, especially against the top teams. They have some offensive power but Barca looked much better than against Inter and Real defensively against Villarreal and will probably improve further