Back this 5/2 Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona single

Spanish giants Athletic Bilbao and FC Barcelona make the journey to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals on Wednesday evening. 

Can Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde emerge victorious against his old club, or will the 14-time winners 'Barca' add another major trophy to their already glowing collection?

Odds Now's Brad Walker takes a closer look at the match-up to pick out the best betting value. 

Odds Now's Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona selection

Athletic Bilbao enjoying 15-match unbeaten run

The Basque club looks set for another successful season under Valverde, currently finding themselves fourth in La Liga at the halfway point. 

Victory in the Copa del Rey ended their 40-year wait for a trophy last season and Bilbao can also move closer to a fourth Super Cup title with victory in the Middle East. 

Their recent form suggests a win is far from out of the equation, given that Bilbao have not tasted defeat since a 2-1 loss at Girona at the start of October. 

The run has been aided by positive numbers in both attacking and defensive quarters. 

Indeed, Bilbao have averaged 1.53 goals scored in the league, failing to score only twice in 19 matches, while also keeping a watertight defence which has seen just 0.89 goals conceded on average so far.

Barcelona stuttering after positive start under Hansi Flick

The former Germany manager threatened to run away with the La Liga title during the early stages of the campaign, but the Catalan club have since been brought back down to earth with an inconsistent run of form. 

Barcelona now find themselves third in the Spanish top-flight, five points off leaders Real Madrid after losing four of their last seven league matches. 

Remarkably, the bulk of their struggles have been at home, given that only 15 of their 38 points have been picked up at the Nou Camp.

Nevertheless, Flick's men remain the highest-scoring club in Europe's top five leagues, having averaged a mighty 2.68 goals scored. That figure rises to 2.82 away from home. 

Clean sheets have been hard to come by though, with Barca having kept only four in La Liga so far.

Only two have came on away soil, despite them having played three more matches on the road. 

Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona best bet

Bilbao have proven themselves to be more than a threat in recent years and have already beaten La Liga champions Real Madrid this season. 

However, much of their success has been at their Estadio de san Mames, where they boast the third-best home record in the Spanish top-flight. 

Valverde's men have still impressed on the road, taking 1.67 points per game, but are still a much stronger outfit on their own patch. 

Compare this with the track record of Barcelona, who appear comfortable playing away from home.

No La Liga side boasts a better away record than Flick's crop, who have also won two of their three away fixtures in the Champions League. 

Barcelona will also be boosted by Lamine Yamal's return to the squad, after missing their last two matches with an ankle injury. 

All in all, the rampant attack of the Catalans should prove too hot to handle for a Bilbao defence which has kept only two clean sheets on away soil. 

Flick's side have hardly been watertight at the back though, and so the Barcelona win with both teams scoring at 5/2 (Betfair) looks to hold plenty of value ahead of kick-off in Jeddah.

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