Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona - Luis Enrique braced for testing trip to Athletic Bilbao

Posted Sunday, August 28, 2016 by PA

Luis Enrique expects one of Barcelona's toughest away trips of the season when they take on Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga on Sunday.

The Spanish champions travel to San Mames on the back of a resounding 6-2 success over Real Betis on the opening weekend of the league campaign.

Coach Luis Enrique has urged his players to embrace the challenge awaiting them in the Basque region.

Speaking at Saturday's pre-match press conference, he said: "Playing at San Mames is one of the most complex games we have on the road.

"They will make it tough for us to get the ball back when we lose it. They will create pressure up the field, and have dangerous players like Raul Garcia and (Aritz) Aduriz who are powerful with the ball and in the aerial game, not to mention Inaki Williams when he's out on the wing and has the ball in deep.

"It won't be easy. Not now. Not ever. And my players know that. Professional footballers love playing in places like that."

Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and defender Javier Mascherano have recovered from injuries ahead of the game, while summer signing Andre Gomes returns from suspension and midfielder Rafinha is available again after helping Brazil win gold at the Olympics.

Forward Neymar has been given an extended rest after his involvement at Rio 2016 and is left out of Luis Enrique's squad along with injured duo Andres Iniesta and Jeremy Mathieu and new goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

Bilbao boss Ernesto Valverde wants to see an improvement from his side following their opening weekend defeat at Sporting Gijon.

Valverde believes it will be a difficult match but remains optimistic of securing a positive result having beaten Barca 4-0 in the first leg of last season's Spanish Super Cup.

"It is an example that Barcelona also is harmful," he told reporters at his pre-match press conference. "Cases like Celta last year (a 4-1 loss for Barca) and Liverpool in pre-season (a 4-0 defeat) are also examples. Sometimes you think these teams are unbeatable but this shows you can get things.

"It's a headache to play against them but I like it because the team demands a lot and learns from different challenges.

"If we play to our potential, we can create many problems for them. We come from losing to Sporting and we will do our best. We want to add and do not want to go to the international break with zero points."