Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid, 2017 La Liga: Match Preview

Forget Madrid’s recent nail-biting Champions League draw against Bayern, it is time to focus on the league. Two points ahead of arch rivals Barcelona and with one game in hand, Madrid has the chance to extend their lead over the Catalan side this weekend with a win against Athletic Bilbao.

Having won their last three, Zinedine Zidane’s emphatic side looks to be gaining momentum again. Having a little less than a week to rest and recover from their recent clustered schedule, Madrid could supply fans with an energetic performance, one that hopefully doesn’t conclude with a last second crunch goal. Instead, maybe Madrid can win the game during regular time.

Bilbao is somewhat of a similar story. Winning three of their past four matches, Athletic have been in decent form. Always there to give Madrid a run for their money, Bilbao will surely challenge Los Blancos this Saturday.

PROJECTED STARTING XI:

Real Madrid: Navas; Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Carvajal, Nacho; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric, Bale, Ronaldo; Benzema

Athletic Bilbao: Arrizabalaga; Alvarez, Boveda, Balenziaga, Laporte, San Jose; Lekue, Benat, Garcia; Muniain, Williams

Player to Watch: Undervalued and unrecognized, Real Madrid’s youth product Nacho Fernandez has lately been putting in the performances for Los Blancos. Active both at the offensive and defensive end, Nacho covers a huge zone with little hesitation. Providing smart tackling and strong support, the undermined 27-year-old comes up big in key moments.

X-Factor: Always subject to huge transfer rumours, French native Aymeric Laporte is a young defensive wall that makes some of the top offensive talents in La Liga frustrated with his keen coverage. The young leader has been a huge part of Athletic Bilbao’s recent success and will surely cause problems for Madrid’s offense.

How to watch

Available TV: BeIN Sports (USA), BeIN La Liga.

Available streaming: BeIN Sports Connect (USA), Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a huge offer for new members and Managing Madrid readers).

For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.

Time and Location: Saturday, March 18^th, 2017 at 11:15 EST/ San Mamés, Bilbao

Past Meeting: October 23^rd, 2016: 2-1 win for Real Madrid

Top Goal Scorer (Goals (all comps)):

Real Madrid:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 19 (26)
2. Alvaro Morata – 8 (13)
3. Karim Benzema – 7 (15)

Athletic Bilbao:

1. Artiz Aduriz – 7 (15)
2. Raul Garcia – 7 (11)
3. Inaki Williams – 3 (6)

Table (Record: W-D-L):

• Real Madrid: 1^st – 62pts (19-5-2)
• Athletic Bilbao: 7^th – 44pts (13-5-9)