Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao: Team News, Predicted XIs, Live Stream, TV Info
The gauntlet is here.
After a gentle five weeks for Real Madrid in the opening stages of Zinedine Zidane's tenure, things are set to become vastly more testing for Los Blancos, starting with Saturday's clash against Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu.
When Athletic and Madrid last met in September, Madrid recorded one of their more impressive victories during Rafa Benitez's short reign, overcoming Ernesto Valverde's men in a frenetic contest at San Mames. The meeting before that, it was Athletic who edged a similar battle, the Basques with their ferocity and pressure being an uncomfortable proposition for Madrid.
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On Saturday, the latest meeting between these historic sides will be significant again, particularly when you look at what's coming.
For Zidane's side, immediately following the visit from Athletic is a trip to the Italian capital to take on Roma in the Champions League, before they head to Spain's south coast to do battle with a suddenly surging Malaga outfit. Real then end the month with the Madrid derby.
This is a critical stretch for the capital club. So far this season, Madrid have laboured badly against their strongest rivals in La Liga and are yet to record a victory against a top-five side. Currently sitting in sixth, Athletic are the highest-placed team Real have managed to overcome, and triumphing again is imperative if they are to stay in the hunt in the league and give themselves some impetus for the tests that loom.
For Athletic, the story is similar. After an immense run between October and January, the Basques' momentum has halted in recent weeks. A 6-0 hammering from Barcelona can do that, and their Copa del Rey exit at the hands of the Catalans was another setback. Now they've got Madrid, Marseille (twice), Real Sociedad in the Basque derby and Valencia at the Mestalla before the month is out.
Like their Saturday opponents, Athletic need something. A kick-start. A marker. A boost. That will be complicated by injury and suspension (more on that below), but bringing the red-hot Aritz Aduriz to the Bernabeu provides encouragement.
Aduriz has 25 goals in all competitions this season. That's more than Neymar, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. Five of those have come against Barcelona, too; the veteran, like his team-mates, enjoys his tussles with those at the top.
To date this season, Madrid haven't.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, February 13
Time: 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET/4 p.m. local
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
TV Info: beIN Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Form Lines
| W: 2-1 vs. Granada | D: 0-0 vs. Villarreal |
| W: 6-0 vs. Espanyol | W: 1-0 vs. Getafe |
| D: 1-1 vs. Real Betis | L: 1-3 vs. Barcelona |
| W: 5-1 vs. Sporting Gijon | W: 5-2 vs. Eibar |
| W: 5-0 vs. Deportivo La Coruna | L: 1-2 vs. Barcelona |
| D: 2-2 vs. Valencia | L: 0-6 vs. Barcelona |
Team News
For Real Madrid, Marcelo has been added to an injury list that also includes Pepe and Gareth Bale, with the Brazilian having dislocated his shoulder last time out against Granada.
Consequently, Nacho will likely step in at left-back to feature in a back four also containing Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Dani Carvajal, while Zidane indicated that Mateo Kovacic will replace Isco in midfield, per the club's official website.
The rest of the team will likely be unchanged from the victory over Granada.
For Athletic Bilbao, some slight reshuffling will be required given that Valverde will be without a number of key players due to suspension and injury.
Indeed, in midfield, anchor Mikel San Jose picked up his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend against Villarreal, while exciting forward Inaki Williams saw red in the same game. As such, Ander Iturraspe will likely step into midfield alongside Benat, while Oscar de Marcos will take the right-sided attacking role.
Behind in-form striker Aduriz, Javier Eraso will continue in a central attacking role given the ongoing injury absence of former Atletico Madrid man Raul Garcia.
Predicted Lineups
In the Spotlight
Cristiano Ronaldo's scoring record in La Liga this season is somewhat deceptive. In 23 appearances, the Portuguese has tallied 19 goals, but eight of those have come against relegation-threatened Espanyol, while not one has come against a team in the league's top six.
"Cristiano's decline? What is there to say?" said Valverde on Friday when quizzed on the matter. "We play him, and you try not to mention anything so you don't make him angry."
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Real Madrid: 4-15
Draw: 5-1
Athletic Bilbao: 17-2
