Preview: Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao

Fresh from their elimination in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Spanish champions Real Madrid will resume their La Liga campaign with a home fixture against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night.

Los Blancos were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, which saw them eliminated 5-1 on aggregate, but Athletic managed to book their spot in the semi-finals of the Europa League with a 2-0 home success over Rangers in the second leg of their last-eight affair on Thursday.

Match preview

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There is simply no downplaying the importance of Sunday’s clash for Real Madrid, as the capital giants look to bounce back from what was a poor showing against Arsenal on Wednesday; a 5-1 defeat overall eliminated them from the competition, and there has been intense speculation surrounding the future of head coach Carlo Ancelotti in recent days.

It seems likely that Ancelotti will be on his way out of the club this summer, but Los Blancos are still on for a domestic double in the latter stages of the campaign, with the final of the Copa del Rey against Barcelona taking place on April 26.

Real Madrid beat Alaves 1-0 in La Liga last weekend, meanwhile, and they are currently second in the table, four points behind the leaders Barcelona, who would stretch the gap to seven points by beating Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Los Blancos simply have to remain in touch with Barcelona, but just one win has arrived from their last five matches in all competitions, and Athletic have proven to be one of the best teams in the division this season.

Real Madrid recorded a 2-0 victory over Athletic in the corresponding game during the 2023-24 campaign, but they suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Lions at San Mames when the pair locked horns for the reverse fixture back in December.

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Athletic secured their spot in the semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday night courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Rangers in the second leg of their quarter-final, which secured a 2-0 aggregate success.

Ernesto Valverde‘s side will take on Manchester United in the final four, with the first leg set for San Mames on May 1, before the Lions head to Manchester one week later for the return game, and it is shaping up to be a fascinating tie.

Athletic have also enjoyed a strong season in La Liga, boasting a record of 15 wins, 12 draws and four defeats from their 31 matches to collect 57 points, which has left them in fourth, six points ahead of fifth-placed Villarreal, who have a game in hand.

La Liga have secured five Champions League spots for next season, so Athletic are in a very comfortable spot considering that they also sit nine points ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis on the same number of matches.

Champions League football seems to be heading to San Mames in 2025-26, and Athletic will be aiming to make it three straight wins in all competitions on Sunday evening, having beaten Rayo Vallecano 3-1 in the league last weekend ahead of their success over Rangers.

Real Madrid La Liga form:

Real Madrid form (all competitions):

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Real Madrid will be without the services of their leading goalscorer Kylian Mbappe this weekend, with the France international serving a one-game suspension following his red card against Alaves.

Eduardo Camavinga will be back after missing the Arsenal game through suspension, while Ferland Mendy and Andriy Lunin both have slight chances of returning to the squad, but Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal remain sidelined with knee injuries.

Rodrygo is expected to be the player to feature through the middle in Mbappe’s absence, with Brahim Diaz potentially being introduced down the right, while Fran Garcia may be given the nod at left-back.

Federico Valverde could drop back into the right-back role due to the threat of Athletic’s Nico Williams, but Antonio Rudiger, who has struggled with muscular fatigue of late, will again be required in the middle of the defence.

As for Athletic, Inaki Williams was an unused substitute against Rangers due to an adductor injury, and it is unlikely that he will be risked from the start on Sunday, but a role off the bench cannot be ruled out.

Yuri Berchiche missed out against Rangers due to a muscular problem, and he is again a major doubt for this match, but the Basque side did not suffer any fresh issues in their Europa League quarter-final second leg.

Benat Prados and Gorka Guruzeta are both expected to be introduced back into the XI for this clash, while there should also be returns for Unai Simon, Aitor Paredes and Andoni Gorosabel.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, F Garcia; Camavinga, Bellingham, Tchouameni; Brahim, Rodrygo, Vinicius

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue; Jauregizar, Prados; Berenguer, Sancet, N Williams; Guruzeta

We say: Real Madrid 2-2 Athletic Bilbao

Athletic have only lost three of their 15 away league matches this season, while Real Madrid’s recent performance level has been disappointing, so it is not straightforward to back a home success here, and we have ultimately had to settle on a 2-2 draw, which would leave Real Madrid in a tough spot in terms of the title race.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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