Barcelona V Athletic Bilbao
Barcelona Preview: Well, there is one final matter to be settled in the Spanish domestic season, before some of the league’s stars can think about heading off to Euro 2012. Barcelona of course will have a heavy influence on Spain’s Euro 2012 squad, and Spanish players involved in this cup final were not called up to Vicente del Bosque’s squad for forthcoming international friendlies. So it is the final of the Copa del Rey and without too much surprise it is the Catalans who are strong favourites to take the title. Barcelona missed out on the La Liga title, conceding their power to Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, and of course, they crashed out of the semi final of the Champions League to eventual winners Chelsea. So they will be desperate to get their hands on some silverware by lifting the Copa del Rey. They will be driven forward by Lionel Messi of course, who will look to cap his record breaking season with a trophy. It will be manager Pep Guardiola’s swansong as well, before he parts ways with the club.
Barcelona beat Real Madrid in the quarter finals of this year’s competition, 4-3 on aggregate. All of the rounds in the Copa del Rey are over two legs, except the final of course, and over the four rounds they have played thus far, Barcelona have netted 23 goals against their opponents. They saw off Valencia 3-1 in the semi finals. Barcelona last won the Copa del Rey back in 2009 when they beat, yes, you guessed it, Athletic Bilbao. The Catalans ran out 4-1 winners on that occasion and will be keen to make amends for losing last year’s final against Real Madrid after extra time. Barcelona are the most successful team in the history of the Copa del Rey, having won it 25 times. They have also finished runners up ten times on top of that. While Barca were hoping to get David Villa back, potentially for this final, there is still some doubt. He definitely won’t be picked for Spain, apparently, after not proving his fitness in recovering from a broken leg suffered last December.
Athletic Bilbao Preview: Bilbao are in the second final of the season, after making it to the showcase of the Europa League. They lost there against the powerful Atletico Madrid, but get a second bite of the cherry to try and lift some silverware this season. They have Marcelo Bielsa at the helm for them, and his tactical genius will no doubt have some influencer on the game, even though Bilbao, from the Basque Country in Spain, will be heavy underdogs. Interestingly enough, the club are the second most successful in Copa del Rey history, second to Barcelona with 23 titles. It was back in 1984 though that they won their last Copa del Rey but they reached the final of the tournament in 2009 when they lost to Barcelona. That was the last time that the two side came together in the competition, and Bilbao will be hoping to fare a lot better than they did back them.
Bilbao may take some heart from a 2-2 home draw against Barcelona in La Liga this season, and only losing 2-0 at the Nou Camp. So they weren’t overwhelmed by their expensive opponents, and they have some great strike power of their own. Bilbao will look to their talisman Fernando Llorente, than man who troubled Manchester United so much in the Europa League this season. It looks as if Llorente could be in line for a starting role at Euro 2012 with David Villa’s absence, so this will be his big stage to shine and to remind Vicente del Bosque just how good he is. There is a gulf of class between the two sides, that goes without question. Bilbao finished 42 points behind second placed Barcelona in La Liga, ending up in 10th place and they went without a win in their last four matches. They will have problems trying to get through the Barcelona defence and they will have to chase the ball for long periods The odds are stacked against them, but Barcelona, as Chelsea proved, are beatable on rare occasions.
Odds: Barcelona 2/7, Draw 5/1, Athletic Bilbao 8/1 at Bet365
Recommended Bet: As much as it would be great to see a competitive final, it doesn’t look as if it is on the cards. Bilbao limped towards the end of the season, and were thumped in the final of the Europa League by Atletico Madrid. Therefore, they don’t look too likely to pull off a major shock, and Barcelona should be good for this. They need to give their fans something to cheer about this season. Barcelona to win by a Two Goal Margin is priced at 3/1 with Bet365 and just about fits the bill.
Online Bookmaker Promotion: If the Copa del Rey final happens to be settled by a penalty shoot out, then online bookmaker Coral have a great money back special waiting for you. If things do get decided by penalties, then Coral will refund all losing bets placed pre match on First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast bets. So there is good coverage to be taken, if Bilbao can hold out against the mighty Catalans. Online bookmaker Coral offer a free £30 bet for new customers registering an account.
