Real Madrid hopes to follow Barcelona’s rhythm in La Liga title race when they face the fourth athletics club in place on Sunday evening.
Freshly out of their release in the Champions League, it seemed that the interior hopes of Madrid were going to receive a big boost on Saturday when Celta Vigo took a 3-1 advance in the second half at Barça. However, Hansi Flick’s team joined after the arrivals of Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal, finally obtaining a 4-3 dramatic victory at the last.
Their advance is now seven points at the top, and although there is still a clasico to play, the hopes of Madrid will take a while if they cannot win on Sunday. They will certainly have to be considerably improved on Wednesday evening, when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Arsenal.
Unlike their hosts, Athletic had fun in the middle of the week and took another step towards a final of the Europa League at home by beating the Rangers 2-0 in San Mames on the second floor of Thursday.
They will qualify for the Champions League by triumphing in Europe this season, but Ernesto Valverde’s team is also ready for a finish among the first four. The athletics are six points from Villarreal in fifth and have not lost the Liga since March 1.
Here is 90 minutes Guide to the Big La Liga Clash on Sunday evening.
Record of Real Madrid vs Athletic Club head-to-head (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
real Madrid | Sports club |
|---|---|
Real Madrid 1-2 Arsenal – 04/16/25 | Athletic Club 2-0 Rangers – 04/17/25 |
Alaves 0-1 Real Madrid – 04/13/25 | Athletics club 3-1 Rayo Vallecano – 04/13/25 |
Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid – 08/04/25 | Rangers 0-0 Athletic Club – 10/04/25 |
Real Madrid 1-2 Valencia – 05/04/25 | Villarreal 0-0 Athletic Club – 06/04/25 |
Real Madrid 4-4 (AET) Real Sociedad – 01/04/25 | Athletic Club 0-0 Osasuna – 03/30/25 |
Country | TV channel / live flow |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | First Player Sports, Laligatv, First Sports 1 |
UNITED STATES | ESPN +, FUBOTV, ESPN APP, ESPN Deportes |
Canada | TSN +, TSN2 |
Ancelotti will be forced to change at the top following the suspension of Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman was expelled in Alaves last week for a horrible challenge which forced a var intervention somehow to see a red card produced.
Endrick is ready to intervene for the hosts, with the boss of Madrid so far to trust the young Brazilian of the Liga. Departures came shortly for the teenager in the first year.
Brahim Diaz could replace Rodrygo on the right, while Fran Garcia is expected to come for David Alaba. Federico Valverde will likely come back to the right back and will face Nico Williams.
On the injury front, the hosts are still without Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy.
Real Madrid programming against Athletic (4-2-3-1): Courteous; Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, Garcia; Tchouameni, Camavonga; Brahim, Bellingham, Vinicius; Endrick.
While Nico Williams played in Athletic’s victory against the Rangers on Thursday, his older brother, Inaki, was an unused substitute due to an adductor injury. The attacker could play a role in Madrid, but a start is unlikely.
Visitors should be again without Yuri Berchiche due to a veal problem, but they have escaped their link with the Gers without more fitness complaints.
The Spanish international Unai Simon is one of the players ready to return to the XI of Valverde.
Planned athletic of the VS Real Madrid programming (4-2-3-1): Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue; Jaucregizar, prados; Berenguer, Schet, n Williams; Guruzeta.
Barcelona’s victory over Barcelona on Saturday is a major psychological blow before Athletic’s visit to Bernabeu. The men of Ancelotti would have been raised by a resulting from Celta in Catalonia, which seemed likely for a large part of the competition, but the Flick team now seems to be obvious for the glory of the Liga.
Madrid was terrible on two legs against Arsenal, and Athletic enters a good form on Sunday. They beat Los Blancos in the reverse match and will support themselves to guarantee a rare victory in the capital.
The hosts are not able to control the matches against an impressive opposition, and the athletics are required to create a lot of things given to what extent their front line is dynamic. However, the absence of MBAPPE will force the alternative superstars of Madrid to intensify, and the tastes of Vini Jr and Jude Bellingham could inspire a result for the hosts. A draw, however, is not ideal.
