La Liga | Gameweek 32

Apr 20, 2025 at 8pm UK

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao

Match preview

There is no underestimating the importance of Sunday's game for Real Madrid, as the capital giants look to bounce back from a poor performance against Arsenal on Wednesday, a 5-1 defeat that saw them knocked out of the competition and sparked intense speculation over the future of head coach Carlo Ancelotti in recent days.

It seems likely that Ancelotti will be on his way out of the club this summer, but Los Blancos are still chasing a domestic double in the closing stages of the season, with the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on 26 April.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, beat Alaves 1-0 in La Liga last weekend and are currently second in the standings, four points behind leaders Barcelona, who would move seven points clear if they beat Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Los Blancos need to keep pace with Barcelona, but they have won just one of their last five games in all competitions and Athletic have proved to be one of the best teams in the division this season.

Real Madrid recorded a 2-0 win over Athletic in the corresponding fixture in 2023-24, but suffered a 2-1 defeat at San Mames when the two sides met in the reverse fixture in December.

Athletic booked their place in the semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday night with a 2-0 win over Rangers in the second leg of their quarter-final to go 2-0 up on aggregate.

Ernesto Valverde's side will face Manchester United in the last four, with the first leg taking place at San Mames on 1 May, before the Lions travel to Manchester for the return leg a week later in what promises to be an intriguing tie.

Athletic have also enjoyed a strong season in La Liga, winning 15, drawing 12 and losing four of their 31 games to amass 57 points and sit fourth, six points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal, who have a game in hand.

La Liga has secured five Champions League places for next season, so Athletic are in a very comfortable position considering they are also nine points clear of sixth-placed Real Betis with the same number of games played.

Champions League football looks set to come to San Mames in 2025-26, and Athletic will be looking to make it three wins in a row in all competitions on Sunday night, having beaten Rayo Vallecano 3-1 in the league last weekend before their success against Rangers.

Recent Performance

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Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:LDWDDW

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):WDDDWW

Team News

Real Madrid will be without top scorer Kylian Mbappe this weekend as the France international serves a one-match ban following his red card against Alaves.

Eduardo Camavinga is back in contention after missing the Arsenal game through suspension, while Ferland Mendy and Andriy Lunin are both in contention to return to the squad, but Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal remain sidelined with knee injuries.

In Mbappe's absence, Rodrygo is expected to play in the centre of the park, with Brahim Diaz possibly coming in on the right, while Fran Garcia could get the nod at left-back.

Federico Valverde could drop back to right-back due to the threat of Athletic's Nico Williams, but Antonio Rudiger, who has been struggling with muscular fatigue of late, will be required in the centre of defence.

As for Athletic, Inaki Williams was an unused substitute against Rangers due to an adductor injury and is unlikely to start on Sunday, but a role off the bench cannot be ruled out.

Yuri Berchiche missed the Rangers game with a muscle problem and is a big doubt for this match, but the Basque did not pick up any new problems in the Europa League quarter-final second leg.

Benat Prados and Gorka Guruzeta are both expected to return to the side, while Unai Simon, Aitor Paredes and Andoni Gorosabel are also in contention.

Possible starting lineup

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Rudiger, F Garcia; Camavinga, Bellingham, Tchouameni; Brahim, Rodrygo, Vinicius

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue; Jauregizar, Prados; Berenguer, Sancet, N Williams; Guruzeta