ShareBarcelona will be looking to continue their fantastic start to the season as they host Athletic Club at the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday evening.By Matt SmithHansi Flick‘s side secured a phenomenal 5-0 victory over Elche in their first match, emphasising why they headed into the season as favourites for the title. Athletic Club didn’t quite have the same success in their opener, suffering a disappointing 3-1 defeat at home to Sevilla.Edin Terzić‘s side will have to end a dismal run against Barcelona, which has seen them fail to score in the last five meetings in all competitions. When they last met back in March, Barcelona scored a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Lamine Yamal.Recent H2H recordTeam newsWe could see a debut for Rodri on Thursday after he recently returned to training following a back injury. Frenkie de Jong, however, remains out injured, while Gavi was also forced off against Elche and is a doubt for this game. Athletic Club will be without Unai Egiluz, Daniel Vivian, and Nico Serrano due to injury, while Yuri Berchiche will be suspended following his red card against Sevilla. New signings make their impactIt was an incredibly positive start to the league season for Barcelona. Not just due to the result and performance, but also due to the impact of their new signings. Karim Adeyemi scored Barcelona’s second goal of the game, while Anthony Gordon also came off the bench to set up two goals. Fermín López also played a crucial role in Barcelona’s win, while Raphinha was up to his usual tricks in the final third. It’s an incredibly positive start for Barcelona, and there’s plenty for Athletic Club to worry about heading into this game. Positives to take despite defeatOn paper, it does look like a disastrous start to the season for Athletic Club, losing by three goals to one at home. However, Terzić’s side went down to ten men after just 11 minutes, and despite conceding three, they certainly didn’t roll over. Athletic Club completely dominated proceedings, even with just ten players, which is a hugely positive sign for them. It was always going to be a tricky task with ten men, but it gave supporters a positive taster of what’s to come.Raphinha solves striker position?In a reasonably unfamiliar role, Brazilian forward Raphinha started through the middle as a centre-forward for Barcelona against Elche. Flick’s side are without Robert Lewandowski this season, and the Barcelona manager tried an alternative way to solve the issue.It’s safe to say it worked wonders, with Raphinha producing a phenomenal performance in front of goal. Whether he is able to produce those kinds of displays in the long term remains to be seen, but it certainly gives the manager a different option in attack. PredictionBarcelona look too deadly in front of goal to not back them to win this, especially at home. We’re going for a 3-1 Barcelona victory.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from LaLiga with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, physical metrics, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.Barcelona will be looking to continue their fantastic start to the season as they host Athletic Club at the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday evening.By Matt SmithHansi Flick‘s side secured a phenomenal 5-0 victory over Elche in their first match, emphasising why they headed into the season as favourites for the title. Athletic Club didn’t quite have the same success in their opener, suffering a disappointing 3-1 defeat at home to Sevilla.Edin Terzić‘s side will have to end a dismal run against Barcelona, which has seen them fail to score in the last five meetings in all competitions. When they last met back in March, Barcelona scored a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Lamine Yamal.Recent H2H recordTeam newsWe could see a debut for Rodri on Thursday after he recently returned to training following a back injury. Frenkie de Jong, however, remains out injured, while Gavi was also forced off against Elche and is a doubt for this game. Athletic Club will be without Unai Egiluz, Daniel Vivian, and Nico Serrano due to injury, while Yuri Berchiche will be suspended following his red card against Sevilla. New signings make their impactIt was an incredibly positive start to the league season for Barcelona. Not just due to the result and performance, but also due to the impact of their new signings. Karim Adeyemi scored Barcelona’s second goal of the game, while Anthony Gordon also came off the bench to set up two goals. Fermín López also played a crucial role in Barcelona’s win, while Raphinha was up to his usual tricks in the final third. It’s an incredibly positive start for Barcelona, and there’s plenty for Athletic Club to worry about heading into this game. Positives to take despite defeatOn paper, it does look like a disastrous start to the season for Athletic Club, losing by three goals to one at home. However, Terzić’s side went down to ten men after just 11 minutes, and despite conceding three, they certainly didn’t roll over. Athletic Club completely dominated proceedings, even with just ten players, which is a hugely positive sign for them. It was always going to be a tricky task with ten men, but it gave supporters a positive taster of what’s to come.Raphinha solves striker position?In a reasonably unfamiliar role, Brazilian forward Raphinha started through the middle as a centre-forward for Barcelona against Elche. Flick’s side are without Robert Lewandowski this season, and the Barcelona manager tried an alternative way to solve the issue.It’s safe to say it worked wonders, with Raphinha producing a phenomenal performance in front of goal. Whether he is able to produce those kinds of displays in the long term remains to be seen, but it certainly gives the manager a different option in attack. PredictionBarcelona look too deadly in front of goal to not back them to win this, especially at home. We’re going for a 3-1 Barcelona victory.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from LaLiga with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, physical metrics, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.