After the Spanish Super Cup disappointment in Saudi Arabia, Real Madrid return to La Liga defence with a trip to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. While the champions have not been at their best lately, they should still have enough to see off Bilbao who have struggled in recent weeks.
Athletic Bilbao are in the middle of a rough patch as they head into Sunday’s clash with just two wins from their last 10 La Liga matches. Sitting just two points off the top six, they remain in the mix for a European finish, although an upturn in form is required.
The Basque club suffered a 3-1 defeat at Real Sociedad in their previous La Liga fixture. They bounced back in the Copa Del Rey in mid-week as Oscar De Marcos’ first half effort earned them a 1-0 victory over Espanyol.
The good news for Athletic Bilbao is that they are unbeaten in seven of their last nine home matches. However, they tend to struggle against some of the top sides having lost to Espanyol and Atletico Madrid at home this season.
Real Madrid’s campaign has suffered a slight setback in recent weeks as they have fallen three points behind Barcelona after losing 2-1 to Villarreal in their previous La Liga fixture. They also suffered a 3-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Los Blancos bounced back in midweek, getting their revenge on Villarreal with a 3-2 Copa Del Rey victory. They fought back from two goals down with Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao and Daniel Ceballos getting the goals.
Aside from the defeat to Villarreal, Real Madrid have been generally solid on their travels this season. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have claimed seven wins from their nine La Liga away matches so far, a run that includes wins at Espanyol and Atletico Madrid.
How the bookies view it
Real Madrid have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 16/11 by 10bet to claim the win. A victory for Athletic Bilbao is valued at 19/10 with bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 23/10 with Paddy Power.
Head to head
Real Madrid have a 40-13 advantage with 10 draws from 63 previous matches against Athletic Bilbao. Los Blancos have won four of the last five meetings, including three wins at San Mames Barria. However, they suffered a 1-0 defeat in their last visit to Bilbao.
Players to watch
Athletic Bilbao will look to Gorka Guruzeta to provide the spark in attack having scored five goals in just 10 appearances for the Basque club. BoyleSports has the forward at odds of 2/1 to get on the score sheet on Sunday.
Karim Benzema has looked back to his best since the restart, scoring five goals in his last five matches across all competitions. The striker has also found the net four times in his last four matches against Athletic Bilbao and is priced at 29/20 by Unibet to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been over 3.5 goals in Real Madrid’s last two matches and a repeat could be on the cards at 23/10 with Unibet. Over 2.5 could also be considered at 10/11 with Unibet while both teams could be backed to score at 8/11 with William Hill.
Real Madrid have opened the scoring in four of the last five matches with Athletic Bilbao and could be backed to grab the first goal on Sunday at 10/11 with Paddy Power.
This La Liga match between Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid will be played on Jan 22, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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