Athletic Bilbao striker Asier Villalibre is pleased with his progress this season.

Villalibre has made all his appearances off the bench and has also scored once.

He said, "Right now I know that I have to contribute from the bench because Gorka Guruzeta is having an incredible start to the season. That's undeniable.

"I think that's an improvement compared to last year, where I was hardly involved at all. I'm training hard every day to play better when I get the chance and, if possible, to get more minutes."

On facing Barcelona this weekend, Villalibre added: "We've just come from a week's break and we're really looking forward to getting back to competing. We know how difficult it is to play against a world-class team, but this season has shown that every match is complicated to win. We will have our chances.

"It's difficult to create a lot of chances against Barça away, so we'll have to be effective with the ones we have. In this start to the campaign, we've proven we can do that."