Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid
Eighth plays second at the San Mames Stadium on Sunday when the La Liga match between Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid is the entertainment on offer, and it’s a huge game by anybody’s reckoning.
Los Blancos are in a fierce El Clasico battle for the title and two defeats in their last four games have handed a three-point lead to Barcelona. Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao are just two points behind the top four and have high hopes of qualifying for the 2023-24 Champions League.
Both teams desperately need a win here and a home advantage for Bilbao puts this game on a knife edge.
Ernesto Valverde’s team had a bad day at the office in last week’s Basque Derby, losing 3-1, while Real Madrid suffered a Super Copa humbling by the same score at the hands of Barcelona.
But both teams recovered to come through their Copa del Rey ties in midweek, as Real Madrid won a five-goal thriller away to Villarreal while Bilbao overcame Espanyol in their fourth round clash.
The pre-match La Liga 2023 betting odds are calling this a tight game and the outcome will be decided on fine margins.
Talking Points
Nacho can solve Madrid’s defensive dilemma
Beating Villarreal on Thursday was a boost for Carlo Ancelotti’s side but Madrid are without a clean sheet in four games and have conceded five goals in the last two.
Right-back Dani Carvajal missed out on the Cope del Rey clash and will be sidelined again against Bilbao, and with Lucas Vazquez already ruled out, that means both Ancelotti’s right-backs are unavailable.
Experienced defender Nacho Fernandez has been out of favour this season and reports have emerged that some of his team-mates have been unhappy at his omission, and now the boss has little option but to rely on the 23-year-old who has played 193 games for Los Blancos and won 22 international caps.
He’s a natural centre-back but the signing of Antonio Rudiger has pushed him out, while Eder Militao will be even harder to displace. Rudiger hasn’t pulled up any trees in his first campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu but Ancelotti has stuck with him.
Nacho is a dependable and versatile player who can slot in a right-back, though Ancelotti may even switch Militao to the right flank and put Nacho in the middle.
At SBOTOP odds of 2.50 to win the title, Real Madrid are still well in the race and it only takes a couple of results to go their way to close Barcelona’s lead.
But they need to shift the momentum away from Catalonia as soon as possible. The return of Karim Benzema is a huge boost, but if Nacho helps to shore things up at the back, then he may find himself back in favour.
Bilbao looking for league bounceback
Losing the Basque derby was a blow to Los Leones as, while their bitter rivals Real Sociedad made it four wins on the bounce, Bilbao slipped to eighth in the table.
A 1-0 win over Espanyol to reach the Copa del Rey quarter-final was the perfect way to get back on track and Bilbao looked back to their best, easing past the Catalonians thanks to an Oscar de Marcos goal.
Alex Berenguer was dominant in midfield and came close with a couple of long-range efforts, while Bilbao’s defence easily smothered any Espanyol ambition.
Now Valverde will ask his team to follow that up with a bounce-back victory in La Liga and, while a packed crowd will roar the Lions on, the players will need to be disciplined and dynamic in equal measures to cause Los Blancos problems while keeping their visitors’ attacks at bay.
Centre-back Yeray Alvarez is having a superb campaign, and keeping a lid on Benzema will be his responsibility.
History
Over the past three decades, Real Madrid have won 40 of their 63 encounters with Bilbao while the Basque boys have won 13 and there have been 10 draws.
The last time the two teams met Bilbao edged a Copa Del Rey quarter final 1-0, as Berenguer scored a stunning 89th minute winner.
Recent form is comparable as Los Blancos have won four and lost two of the last six while Bilbao have won three, drawn two, and lost one.
Real Madrid have been very strong away from home with seven wins and two defeats, while Athletic Bilbao are unbeaten in five games at the San Mames Stadium.
Betting Tip
This is a very tough game to call with the visitors’ marginal favourites at 2.43, while the hosts are 2.68 and the draw is 3.20.
Sociedad and Barcelona fans in particular will be keeping tabs on the La Liga 2023 updates, as La Real would love to see their Basque rivals drift out of the top four race while the Blaugrana want to keep Los Blancos at arm’s length.
1-1 is the most likely scoreline at a price of 5.41 and that wouldn’t be ideal for either Los Blancos or Los Leones, while a 2-1 win, either way, would make one team’s weekend and wreck the other’s.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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