Barcelona vs Athletic Club: How to watch the Copa del Rey 2020/21 final on TV, live stream & prediction

Barcelona and Athletic Club head to Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville to battle it out in the 2020/21 Copa del Rey final.

It's one of just two trophies still on offer to Ronald Koeman's Barcelona, and with the odds stacked against them in La Liga, you can guarantee that La Blaugrana will throw everything they have to win this one.

For Athletic, this will be a chance to avenge their loss in last season's final, which was actually only played 14 days before this one after COVID-19 tore the calendar up. They came up short against Real Sociedad in that game and will be keen not to strike out again.

Barcelona picked up the victory when these sides met in the 2015 Copa del Rey final, but Athletic have recent history on their side as they emerged victorious in the final of the Spanish Supercopa back in January.

There's revenge, bragging rights and a shiny trophy at stake in this game, and here's everything you need to know about it.

How to watch the Copa del Rey final on TV

When is the match? Saturday 17 April
What time is kick off? 20:30 BST
Where is it being played? Estadio de La Cartuja
TV Channel/Live Stream? Premier Sports (UK), ESPN+ (US)

Barcelona team news

There are no fresh injury concerns for Barcelona, who remain without long-term absentees Ansu Fati and Philippe Coutinho. Instead, the focus in the build-up to this game is on whether Koeman will stick with his 3-4-2-1 setup or not.

Sport recently suggested that Koeman could return to a 4-3-3 formation - a change which could coincide with the returns of forward Antoine Griezmann and centre-back Gerard Pique.

Athletic team news

Similarly, Athletic boss Marcelino shouldn't have any surprises. He remains without Peru Nolaskoain, Yuri Berchiche, Yeray Alvarez and Oier Zarraga, but most of the heavy-hitters are available for selection.

Iker Muniain, Inaki Williams and Raul Garcia were all handed rests last time out against Alaves, so they should be raring to go for this one.

Predicted Barcelona & Athletic lineups

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; De Jong, Pique, Lenglet; Dest, Busquets, Pedri, Alba; Griezmann, Messi, Dembele.

Athletic: Simon; De Marcos, Nunez, Martinez, Lekue; Berenguer, Vencedor, D Garcia, Muniain; R Garcia, Williams

Recent form

Barcelona

Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona (10/04)
Barcelona 1-0 Real Valladolid (05/04)
Real Sociedad 1-6 Barcelona (21/03)
Barcelona 4-1 Huesca (15/03)
PSG 1-1 Barcelona (10/03)

Athletic

Athletic 0-0 Alaves (10/04)
Real Sociedad 1-1 Athletic (07/04)
Athletic 0-1 Real Sociedad (03/04)
Athletic 1-1 Eibar (20/03)
Celta Vigo 0-0 Athletic (14/03)

Copa del Rey final prediction

Athletic will be keen to avoid losing two finals in two weeks, but it's very hard to look past Barcelona for this one.

Barça's attack has stuttered a bit in recent weeks, but in Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele, they have two of the most electric forwards around and they will be confident of carving out a handful of chances for themselves.

Athletic's recent form shows they're lacking in the attacking department, but it also proves how tough they have been to break down. That defensive stability could cause nightmares for Barcelona, who have struggled against low, compact back lines recently.

It's the kind of game that could be problematic for Barcelona, but they should have enough quality to get a result here.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Athletic

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