Barcelona vs Athletic Club: TV, stream & preview

Having dropped five points in their last two La Liga outings, the reigning champions will be looking to kick-start their season back at Camp Nou

Barcelona will be looking to offer a positive response to an uncharacteristic wobble when they welcome Athletic Club to Camp Nou on Saturday.

Ernesto Valverde's reigning champions have dropped five points in their last two outings, with a home draw against Girona followed by a shock midweek defeat at Leganes.

They remain top of the table, with arch-rivals Real Madrid having also come unstuck last time out, but have allowed the chasing pack to close in - with six teams now separated by just three points.

Athletic will be hoping to provide another twist in the title chase when they head to Catalunya, having already held Real this season, but are without a victory since the opening weekend.

TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch

In the United States (US) the game will be shown live on television on beIN Sports. It can also be streamed live online using the beIN Sports CONNECT service.

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast live on television but it can be streamed via Eleven Sports.

Squads & Team News

Samuel Umtiti is facing up to a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee problem, but fellow defender Clement Lenglet is back from suspension.

Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba were rested for the defeat at Leganes and can expect to be drafted back in as Valverde puts faith in his tried and tested.

Possible Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Lenglet, Pique, Alba; Arthur, Busquets, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Coutinho.

Eduardo Berizzo has no fresh injury or suspension concerns to contend with.

Full-back Inigo Lekue and goalkeeper Iago Herrerin remain unavailable, although the latter has returned to training.

Possible Athletic Club XI: Simon; De Marcos, Nunez, Martinez, Berchiche; Benat, Iturraspe; Capa, Garcia, Muniain; Williams.

Betting & Match Odds

Barcelona are heavy favourites to take all three points, with bet365 pricing them at 1/7 to emerge victorious. Athletic Club are considered to be 16/1 shots, with a draw available at 15/2.

Match Preview

Barcelona are unaccustomed to enduring blips in La Liga and will be eager to ensure that their current dip lasts no longer than two games.

Reverting back to their strongest XI should aid that cause, even when taking into account uncharacteristic mistakes from the likes of Gerard Pique over recent outings.

Lionel Messi has been passed by Andre Silva on the top scorer charts, so the prolific Argentine will be looking to get back among the goals against Athletic.

He has five efforts to his name so far, and eight across all competitions, with all of those having come at Camp Nou.

Messi netted home and away against Athletic last season, so will want to keep that run going.

The Bilbao-based outfit will be fully aware of the threat posed by a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, but also by a number of his team-mates.

Athletic are yet to keep a clean sheet this season and saw a run of three successive draws ended in midweek when they went down 3-0 at home to Villarreal.