Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao: Odds, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
Real Madrid are out to get back to winning ways when they host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, when Zinedine Zidane's side men look to climb La Liga's ranks and close the gap on Atletico Madrid.
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Leganes held Real to a 1-1 draw in their clash on Monday, leaving the Madrid heavyweights four points behind second-place Atleti with only six games remaining.
Athletic have already taken points off Real this term and drew 1-1 at San Mames when Julen Lopetegui was at the helm in September. Two managerial changes later, Madrid will be hoping to clinch a second win in four games with Zidane back in charge.
Fortunately for them, Athletic have won only three of their 15 matches away from home. Not as fortunately for Real, two of those away wins have come in their past four trips, with Athletic triumphing at Huesca and Girona.
Real have had to make do with a raft of significant first-team injuries in recent matches, and Carlos Forjanes of AS wrote Sergio Ramos Vinicius Junior and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remain unavailable. Striker Mariano Diaz is also sidelined through injury, while Toni Kroos is reportedly a doubt.
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It's an unwelcome dilemma for Zidane. One player who seems likely to keep his place in the engine room is the 20-year-old Federico Valverde, who has impressed greatly since the French tactician returned in March.
Not even the youngster's blossoming form could prevent the draw at Leganes, after which ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan described a downtrodden Zidane:
Garitano has led seventh-place Athletic to a run of three wins in four games, and they have lost only once in their seven games leading up to Sunday's visit to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Their last result was a satisfying 3-2 victory over relegation candidates Rayo Vallecano, when forward Inaki Williams brought his goal tally up to 12 for the season (UK only):
The 24-year-old has had only one direct goal involvement in six meetings with Los Blancos, per Transfermarkt, but he has netted in four of Athletic's past five league games.
Athletic could still finish as high as fourth in La Liga, and a vulnerable Real would be smart not to underestimate their motivated visitors in Week 33.
