Barcelona are hoping to end the season on a high when they take on Athletic Club at San Mames on Sunday evening. The La Liga title has already been wrapped up by the Catalan side, who will be in high spirits for their trip to Bilbao.
There have been suggestions that Hansi Flick could field a full La Masia XI for the match against Athletic, but according to Sport, this will not happen. Rather, it will be another strong Barcelona line-up that is fielded, with only four changes expected from last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at home to Villarreal.
Those changes would see Hector Fort, Andreas Christensen, Alejandro Balde and Frenkie de Jong return to the starting line-up, with Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Gerard Martin and Pedri dropping out. As such, the attacking trident of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski – who needs to score six times to claim this season’s Pichchi Trophy – will start together. And as such, none of the five players who could leave Barcelona this summer are expected to start.
Athletic Club also have nothing to play for having already wrapped up Champions League qualification, but they will hope to end the season with a win in front of their home fans. The occasion will be an emotional one as it will see the final appearance of club captain Oscar de Marcos, who is retiring at the end of the season. He is set to be one of more changes from the victory at Valencia last weekend, with Yeray Alvarez, Mikel Jauregizar and Inaki Williams also in line to start.
It should be a good match-up at San Mames, with two teams in good spirits facing off against each other. But who will end the 2024-25 season on a high?
