Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid - Spanish Primera Division
Saturday, 07/03/2015 - San Mames, Bilbao, Spain
Athletic Bilbao team may not be repeating their excellent
4th place finish from last season in La Liga, but their league form has
picked up recently. They have gone unbeaten in 5 of their last 6 league
matches while keeping a clean sheet in 4 of their last 5. Their 11
points over this stretch has seen them comfortably away from the
relegation zone but that may not be a good thing for their chances here.
Furthermore, they have been defeated by multiple goals against similar
competition to Real in Barcelona (twice, 5:0 and 2:0), Atletico (4:1), Villarreal (2:0), and of course to Real Madrid themselves
(5:0). It has not been what one would call a successful season for Los
Leones, but Wednesday saw them comfortably dispatch Espanyol in the Copa
del Ray semifinals to set up a title bout in May with Barcelona. That
victory will have given them confidence for this Saturday’s
seemingly-impossible task of toppling the league leaders, though with 9
losses in their last 10 La Liga meetings against Madrid, avoiding defeat
on Saturday will take a monumental effort and perhaps a bit of luck for
the 10th-placed hosts.
Real Madrid team faltered in their title challenge last time
out, dropping 2 points out of their previous 4-point lead on Barcelona
when they drew 1:1 with Villarreal. The draw not only allowed Barcelona
to come back within striking distance but it also saw both Atletico and Valencia sneak back in at 7 and 8 points back, respectively.
Surprisingly, it was their first draw at the Bernabeu all season in La
Liga action and just the 5th time they have been held without a win
through 25 league fixtures. Critics are beginning to ask questions about
this team’s mental fortitude and whether Carlo Ancelotti really is the
right man for the job. But the visitors can temporarily put those
concerns to bed here in Bilbao against a team they have defeated in 19
of their last 21 meetings in all competitions. They have outscored Los
Leones with 37 goals to just 6 conceded in their last 10 Liga
meetings, claiming all 9 of their wins in this stretch by multiple-goal
margins of victory. While Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez remain
absent, the visitors have a full squad to call upon other than that.
Probable lineups:
Athletic Bilbao: Iraizoz – de Marcos, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga – M. Rico, San Jose – M. Susaeta, Iker Muniain, Ibai Gomez – Aduriz.
Real Madrid: Casillas – Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo – Lucas Silva, T. Kroos – Bale, Isco, C. Ronaldo – Benzema.
