Match Preview

Real Madrid are back in action on Easter Sunday to take on Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabéu. Real played earlier this week on Monday against Leganes, where the clubs drew 1-1. The same scoreline that was seen at the beginning of the season in Bilbao when Real drew with Athletic in their first meeting.

Real remain in third in the league table, 9 points ahead of now-4th place Sevilla, who have jumped Getafe for the fourth spot. Athletic are currently in 7th, tied with Alavés on points.

The club will want to get a win at home after drawing on the road and dropping points this week already. Athletic always play Real tough, so it will be a challenge for Los Blancos to capture all three points on the holiday.

Injuries/Suspensions

Courtois, Sergio Ramos, and Vinicius remain injured for Real Madrid. Ceballos has also been left out of Sunday’s squad. Odriozola is the most recently added name to the club’s injured list.

Athletic remain without Mikel Rico, who has been out of action since December. Ibai Gomez and Ander Capa are also out for Athletic.

There are no suspensions for either side in Sunday’s match.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Asensio, Benzema

Kroos was not in the lineup at all on Monday, he is on the Sunday squad list so it is likely he takes back his spot this weekend from Fede Valverde.

Bale came off the bench on Monday after Asensio started on the right side, he could get a start here against Athletic. Isco started on the left side against Leganes so Zidane has a choice to make between him and Asensio should Bale start.

Athletic Bilbao

Herrerín; de Marcos, Alvarez, Martinez, Berchiche; Dani Garcia, Beñat; Muniain, Raul Garcia, Cordoba; Iñaki Williams

Prediction

Real Madrid-Athletic Bilbao 1-1

Real Madrid have drawn in their last three meetings with Athletic, their last win dating back to March 2017 in a 2-1 road win. The last two matches alone have both finished 1-1, I’m going with the safe bet here that a draw prevails yet again.

Being at home helps, but certainly no guarantee that Real uses that to their advantage. Real would definitely love a win after drawing already earlier in the week on the road. They also need to up their scoring as their last three matches have seen no more than 2 goals scored.

This will be a tough matchup, one that Real will need to play a full 90. There’s not a whole lot on the line with a Champions League spot likely secured being nine points ahead, but a win can still get them some confidence in their game.