Great game we have here.

Athletic changed the coach this week, which is a great news for the fans and players. As said in previous picks, the previous coach was very defensive, and players weren’t happy playing this kind of football. There were also some internal problems, with good players out of the team due to “coach decision”. The results of Athletic lately were so bad, but their football were even worse.

But now they have Marcelino on the bench, a great coach who knows how to create a winning team, as he did in Villarreal or Valencia. From today, players will be the main responsible for the results, and they have big pressure.

Athletic is a very competitive team, always were a very intense team which showed their best level playing at home against strong rivals, where they show their pride. And Marcelino (new coach) is also a specialist on motivating players to be very intense and competitive, so it’s a perfect combo. Tomorrow players will have huge motivation, and I see them totally able to achieve a positive result to show their best level to this new demanding coach.

This season so far played well against strong rivals: Villarreal (drew 1-1), Real Madrid (played well in the first half, but received a red card at 13’ and ended exhausted), Sevilla (won 2-1)... And in the previous seasons we always saw the best games of Athletic Club against Real Madrid or Barcelona.

On the other side, Barcelona is in crisis. I see them at the worst level in the last 10 years maybe. They are playing so bad, the best players this season are Ansu Fati (injured) and Pedri, both kids of 18 years old. Messi is at a really bad level, missing many chances and seems tired. The defense is conceding a lot of chances and their level is so bad without Pique (injured), while in attack Griezmann is in bad form as well.

Of course with Messi Barcelona can always win the games, but they have a big dependence on him and if Athletic knows how to stop him, Barcelona won’t find alternatives. In 7 games played as visitors, Barcelona managed to win only 3 and scored only 9 goals, being a very average traveller. Huesca (the bottom) scored the same amount of goals (9) playing far from home.

Against strong sides this season Barcelona weren’t able to win, and their performances were so bad: drew 2-2 against a motivated Valencia, won 2-1 vs Real Sociedad (suffering a lot), lost 1-0 vs Atletico Madrid, 0-3 vs Juventus, 1-1 vs Sevilla, lost 1-3 vs Real Madrid…

I’m expecting a classic game in La Liga, with a lot of pace and intensity as always. But I think that for Athletic it is the perfect scenario to show their ambition and best level: new coach, a strong rival, and playing at home. They have quality enough to achieve a positive result here, especially due to the low level and motivation of Barcelona (the worst in years).

I don't see Barcelona at the same level of motivation and intensity. Of course they have more quality with Messi, but I believe that with the new coach we will see a good version of Athletic Club.

毕尔巴鄂本周更换了教练，这对球迷和球员来说是个好消息。正如以前的选择所说，前任教练非常保守，球员对踢这种足球并不满意。还存在一些内部问题，很多优秀的队员因为教练的决定离开了球队。最近的毕尔巴鄂竞技的比赛成绩差强人意，他们状况甚至更糟。

但是现在他们有了新的教练马塞里诺，一个伟大的教练，他知道如何组建一支胜利的球队，就像他在比利亚雷亚尔或巴伦西亚时一样。从今天开始，球员们将会全力踢好比赛。

毕尔巴鄂竞技是一支非常有竞争力的球队，在主场对阵强大对手的比赛中表现出了自己的最佳水平。Marcelino（新教练）擅长激励球员，让球员发挥出他们的正常水平，因此这是一个完美的组合。明天的比赛球员将会有极大的动力，他们完全有能力取得一个积极的结果，向新教练展示他们的最佳水平。

到目前为止，毕尔巴鄂本赛季对阵强大的对手表现出色：比利亚雷亚尔（比分1-1），皇家马德里（上半场表现不错，但在13'时获得红牌），塞维利亚（获胜2-1）。在过去的几个赛季中，我们总能看到毕尔巴鄂竞对阵皇家马德里或巴塞罗那取得好的成绩。

另一方面，巴塞罗那陷入了危机。我认为他们可能是最近十年来最差的水平。他们的表现很糟糕，本赛季最好的球员是18岁的Ansu Fati（受伤）和Pedri。梅西（Messi）的状态确实很差，错过了很多机会，看上去很累。防守给了对手很多机会，而没有皮克（受伤）的情况下他们的水平是如此糟糕，格里兹曼在进攻中的状态也很糟糕。

当然，有了梅西，巴塞罗那总能赢得比赛，但是他们对梅西有很大的依赖，如果毕尔巴鄂知道如何阻止他，巴塞罗那将找不到其他选择。在7场客场的比赛中，巴塞罗那的成绩非常一般，仅赢了3场，进了9个球。韦斯卡（排名垫底）的客场进球数（9）和他们相同。

本赛季巴塞罗那面对强队无法取胜，他们的表现也非常糟糕：以2比2战平战意不足的瓦伦西亚，以2比1战胜皇家社会队（饱受伤病困扰），以0-1输给马德里竞技队， 0-3输给尤文图斯，1-1平塞维利亚，1-输给3对皇马…

我认为这是一场经典的西甲赛事，一如既往的节奏和强度。但是我认为，对于毕尔巴鄂竞技来说，展现他们的雄心和最好水平的关键因素是：新教练，强大的竞争对手以及在主场作战。他们的实力足以在这里取得积极的成绩，尤其是由于巴塞罗那的实力和状态（多年来最差）。

我认为巴萨已经有了很大的不同。当然有梅西存在他们的实力依然很强，但是我相信，有了新教练，我们会看到一个截然不同的毕尔巴鄂竞技。