Luis Suarez
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez misses the trip to San Mames through suspension Getty Images

Barcelona travel to San Mames to face Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final, three days after they thrashed the Basque outfit 6-0 in La Liga.

Where to watch

Kick-off is set for 8pm GMT. The game is not scheduled for live broadcast in the UK.

Overview

Athletic Bilbao have won just two of their last five matches in all competitions but are on a 10-game unbeaten run at San Mames. The Basque side are facing Barcelona for the fifth time this season, having famously secured a 5-1 aggregate win over Luis Enrique's side in the Spanish Super Cup back in August.

Midfielder Raul Garcia is sidelined with a knee injury while centre-back Aymeric Laporte (back) is a doubt. Forward Aritz Aduriz returns after missing the La Liga defeat against Barca on 17 January through suspension.

Barcelona kept up the pressure on league leaders Atletico Madrid with an emphatic 6-0 victory over 10-man Athletic at the weekend, with Luis Suarez netting a hat-trick. The Catalan giants are on a four-match winning run in all competitions, conceding just one goal in that sequence.

Lionel Messi picked up a muscle problem in the win over Athletic and is likely to be rested. Left-back Jordi Alba (hamstring) is also sidelined, while striker Luis Suarez is suspended.

What managers say

Ernesto Valverde: "Neymar is a player that is right now very difficult to stop. He was at a high level during last year's [Copa] final and [also] here in San Mames as well. He has many qualities and is among the best in the world, but we will try to stop him."

Luis Enrique: "We've analysed the game (6-0 win against Athletic Bilbao) and there's no guarantee that the same thing is going to happen. The sending-off certainly altered the way we're going to look at the game. There are still positive and negative things that we could take away from our analysis."

Form guide

  • Athletic Bilbao (all competitions): LWLWD
  • Last result: Barcelona 6-0 Athletic Bilbao
  • Barcelona (all competitions): WWWWD
  • Last result: Barcelona 6-0 Athletic Bilbao

Betting odds (888sport)

  • Athletic Bilbao win: 7/2
  • Draw: 11/4
  • Barcelona win: 4/5

Team news

Athletic Bilbao possible XI: Herrerin; De Marcos, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga; San Jose, Benat; Williams, Eraso, Susaeta; Aduriz

Barcelona possible XI: Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Adriano; Turan, Busquets, Iniesta; Roberto, Neymar, Vidal

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