PREVIEW: Athletic Club host giants Real Madrid at San Mamés

Athletic Club will welcome Real Madrid to San Mamés in round 15 of LaLiga on Wednesday evening.

The Basque side head into the match on the back of a 2-0 win against Levante which left them eighth in the table.

They have won two of their last four matches in LaLiga including that triumph against Levante. A 1-0 win against Real Oviedo was that result, however Los Leones have suffered particularly tough defeats against rivals Real Sociedad and Barcelona in that period, the latter coming in the form of a 4-0 drubbing.

Ernesto Valverde’s men lost 1-0 against Real Madrid when the two sides last met at the Bernabéu in April.

Athletic club have a sizeable injury list going into the game. Key men like Iñaki Williams, Robert Navarro, Beñat Prados, Unai Egiluz and Maroan Sannadi are all set to miss the game, while Yuri Berchiche is also a likely absentee. Yeray Álvarez and Oihan Sancet are both suspended.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid both unbeaten and winless in their last three matches in LaLiga with draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. In fact, they’ve won only one of their last five in all competitions in the form of a 4-3 thriller against Olympiacos in the Champions League.

Despite the dropped points as of late, Xabi Alonso’s side are still second in LaLiga and a win against Athletic Club would send them within a point of Barcelona in first place.

The last time Los Blancos traveled to Bilbao they suffered a 2-1 defeat in December 2024.

This will be the 249th clash between the two sides. So far, Real Madrid have won 124 matches to Athletic Club’s 79. On 49 occasions has the game ended in a draw.

Alonso will be without David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy thanks to injury. Dean Huijsen also remains a doubt.

The match will be live on Premier Sports in the UK with a kick-off time of 18:00 GMT.

Predicted line-ups

ATH: Simón; Lekue, Vivian, Paredes, Boiro; Jauregizar, Rego; Serrano, Berenguer, Williams Jr.; Guruzeta

RMA: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Tchouaméni, Rüdiger, Carreras; Valverde, Camavinga; Güler, Bellingham, Vini Jr.; Mbappé