All eyes on Nico Williams as Barca host Athletic Club

This Saturday August 24th, FC Barcelona will host Athletic Club for a La Liga EA Sports Matchday 2 duel at the Estadi Olímpic at 7pm CAT, with Athletic Club arriving for this important test with Nico Williams still in their ranks.

FC Barcelona and Athletic Club are two of the only three clubs who, along with Real Madrid, have been involved in every single La Liga season. In that time, they’ve faced off in 186 league meetings, packed with tension, goals, records and memorable moments.

In fact, the largest margin of victory in La Liga history came in this fixture, back on January 8th 1931 when legendary Athletic Club coach Fred Pentland oversaw a 12-1 victory over the Barça of James Bellamy at the beginning of the second half of the 1930/31 season.

Spooling forward to the present day, Hansi Flick’s side come into Matchday 2 of this new season in high spirits, after winning 2-1 away at Valencia CF at Mestalla, as Robert Lewandowski scored a double in the season opener last weekend. Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Club side could only draw 1-1 at home to Getafe CF when they kicked off the season at San Mamés.

Now, FC Barcelona will look to clinch their first home win of the new campaign. The home fans are excited about the arrival of Dani Olmo, who could make his debut in front of them, while Pedri has returned after 40 days out injured to provide a boost for FC Barcelona. Furthermore, the team should be able to call upon Alejandro Balde, after his substitution at Mestalla proved to be just a scare.

In contrast, Valverde faces a complicated situation in defence as he won’t have Aitor Paredes, who was substituted off in the game against Getafe CF due to muscular problems. The coach will also be without goalkeepers Unai Simón and Julen Agirrezabala due to injuries, so the youth team shot-stoppers are filling in.

One player who will be available for Athletic Club is Nico Williams, who has decided to stay at the club despite interest from elsewhere over the summer. Williams will inherit the No 10 shirt that was won by his former captain Iker Muniain. Athletic Club know that Williams, who was the MVP of the Euro 2024 final this summer, is a key player for the future of the club. As he looks to keep up his bright performances in attack, all eyes will be on the 22-year-old in La Liga EA Sports.

This could be a difficult test for the Basques when they visit Montjuïc, as they’ve struggled in recent away games against Barça and have lost each of their past five on the road against the Catalan outfit. However, last year’s encounter at the Estadi Olímpic was only won by Barça in the final minutes, when Marc Guiu came off the bench and scored the only goal in that 1-0 victory.

Moreover, Athletic Club eliminated FC Barcelona from the Copa del Rey last season, in a match in Bilbao in which Nico Williams scored one goal and set up another. It should be another exciting encounter when these two historic foes face off again this Saturday.