Athletic Club vs Real Madrid : The possible Championship decider || La Liga – Matchday 37
La Liga – Matchday 37
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid – 16th May
The possible Championship decider
Athletic Club
Athletic has been a resurgent force under Marcelino and is currently on the 9th position with 46 points in the La Liga standings. They have won 11, lost 12, and drew 13 games out of the 36 matches played by them in this league so far.
The Basque Giants had been in phenomenal form with a nine-game unbeaten streak before they faced Huesca this week and are relatively tough to beat on their patch this term and have had a solid season for the club.
Athletic Bilbao’s possible starting lineup:
Simon, Vencedor, De Marcos, Martinez, Balenziaga, Nunez, Berenguer, D Garcia, Morcillo, R Garcia and I Williams
Real Madrid
Real Madrid has the best away record in La Liga this season, Los Blancos are still in the race to be the La Liga Champion this season if they win both of their coming games and if Atletico slips in any of their two matches.
The Real Madrid side would not want their last 16 games unbeaten streak in La Liga to come to an end this season while being so close to being crowned the champions. They humiliated Granada with a 4-1 scoreline in their favour during the last match, and to win they need to perform likewise against Athletic Bilbao.
Zidane’s men have won 23, lost 4, and drew in 9 games out of the 36 matches they have played so far, which has helped them reach the second position with 78 points in the La Liga standings.
Real Madrid’s possible starting lineup: Courtois, Rodrygo, Odriozola, Militao, Gutierrez, Benzema, Valverde, Casemiro, Modric, Nacho, and Vinicius
Team News
Real Madrid’s Varane, Lucas Vazquez, Ramos, Carvajal, and Mendy are ruled out of this fixture as they are still injured whereas Marcelo is available but is most likely to be benched by Zidane due to the alleged tiff between them. Toni Kroos will also not be a part of this fixture as he is under self-isolation.
Athletic’s Nolaskoain, Berchiche, Capa, and Muniain are ruled out of this fixture due to their injury. Lekue and Garcia are excluded from the team as they have tested positive for coronavirus.
Head to Head
Los Blancos have an impeccable record against Athletic Club, as they have won 10 of their last 15 games against them in La Liga. The Whites have defeated them more than any other teams in the history of this league, which includes both total and on their home ground. Real Madrid also has a record of scoring the most goals against them than any other team in this competition.
The last time Athletic Club won against Real Madrid was March 2015, and that has been the only win from their last 22 clashes in La Liga against them. The last time these two teams faced each other was in the Spanish Super Cup earlier this year, which ended in a 2-1 victory for the Athletic Club.
Prediction and Betting Tips
We expect Real Madrid to win over Athletic Club in a tight contest with a 2-1 scoreline favouring them to stay in the title race. The betting tips favour the Athletic side to give the Spanish Giants a tough competition. So, place your bets on the winning side at the start of the game or in the middle of the game when the odds change.
Odds
Real Madrid is the favourite to win this game with their betting odds at 1.54, whereas Athletic Club is the underdog going into this game with their pre-game betting odds at 5.50. The betting odds for this game to end in a draw is 4.25.
