Hello and welcome to LIVE coverage of Barcelona's clash with Athletic Bilbao.

I get the feeling that this could be anything now. The floodgates tend to open once Barcelona get two goals ahead, and Athletic Bilbao must be feeling pretty dejected right now.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Barcelona 2 (30 mins - Neymar) Athletic Bilbao 0. It's a second for Barcelona! Suarez slots through Neymar, who is completely free on the right side, and the Brazilian dinks his shot over Herrerin.

The edge was taken from this match in the opening few minutes of the contest. Athletic Bilbao could have been good competition for Barcelona, but not with a one disadvantage.

NOT FAR OVER AT ALL! Vidal breaks forward to the edge of the penalty area, but his shot flashes over the crossbar. Herrerin was beaten by that, just as well the woodwork was too.

Of course, Athletic Bilbao are without their star man this evening. Aduriz is suspended for the match, and you can tell that the away side are lacking their usual frontman.

Neymar has been in excellent form of late, and he looks in the mood once again tonight. Athletic Bilbao are struggling to keep tabs on him. It's so difficult to mark him along with the rest of the MSN.

RAKITIC ON THE VOLLEY! Neymar's clipped pass found the Croatian midfielder perfectly, but Rakitic gets a bit excited and blasts his shot over the bar. That was a chance.

That save will boost the confidence of the fill-in goalkeeper. Neymar looked certain to score, but he didn't count on the outstanding save from Herrerin. That will do him good.

HERRERIN DENIES NEYMAR! The Brazilian beats about three Athletic Bilbao defenders inside the area, but the goalkeeper does really well to smother the close-range shot.

Barcelona still need to be wary of Athletic Bilbao's threat on the counter attack. As De Marcos showed not that long ago, they still have pace and directness on the break. They are a threat.

Barcelona, with their man advantage, have taken control of this match, and are passing the ball around the midfield almost unchallenged. Athletic have been crippled by the red card.

MESSI'S SHOT IS BLOCKED! Neymar's clipped pass finds Messi inside the box, but he is surrounded by players in red and white, and in the end his snapshot is blocked.

That was interesting De Marcos actually managed to better Alba in a foot race in behind the Barcelona backline. Just as well for the hosts that Bravo was aware to the danger.

That was somewhat wasteful from Suarez. He decided to shoot from 20 yards out rather than pass out to the unmarked Vidal, but his effort floated over the target. No threat in that.

Messi is dropping deep to receive the ball and spraying it out to Neymar and Suarez. That has been a feature of Barcelona's play this season. He is more of a playmaker.

Of course, this is the first of three games Barcelona will play against Athletic Bilbao in this month. They have been drawn against them in the Copa Del Rey quarters as well.

The tone of this match has already been set. Barcelona are the ones dictating the possession, with Athletic Bilbao sitting deep and looking to soak up the hosts' pressure.