The reigning European champions have been in terrific form lately and they will be hoping for a sixth consecutive victory when they face Bilbao on Sunday. Los Blancos have scored a spectacular total of 22 goals in their last five matches which should leave them in a buoyant mood ahead of the match, further to this star forward Cristiano Ronaldo is also likely to feature despite his injury concerns.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the availability of his talismanic player for the upcoming match also throwing light on Madrid's win over Ludogorets last time out and how they must be cautious of Ernesto Valverde's men in their upcoming encounter.
"Fabio Coentrao, Jese Rodriguez and Sami Khedira are the only ones who are not fit to play," Ancelotti said. "Cristiano is in excellent shape."
"We will play with a 4-3-3 formation. We have to fix a few things and be more balanced," he continued.
"[Athletic boss] Ernesto Valverde is one of the best coaches in Spain. Athletic has a lot of character and quality. We have to be careful with them."
The hosts will be confident of a victory on Sunday having beaten Athletic in their last nine meetings at the Bernabeu, with three of these last five fixtures resulting in a 5-1 victory for Madrid.
Bilbao on the other hand will be looking to turn things around against Madrid having failed to record any win in their last six matches in all competitions. They failed to impress during their last meeting against Bate, a match which ended 2-1 in favor of the home side but manager Ernesto Valverde has insisted that his team will be looking for all three points when they face Madrid on Sunday.
“First we would like to take all three points and after that, compete and play well,” he said.
“We would rather be beaten fighting and playing well. Barca beat us because they are a great side but at least we gave them a game.
“Last season I felt that Madrid beat us too easily. We don’t just want to give a good impression out on the field of play, we want to win – that is our priority.”
Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao team sheets
Real Madrid starting XI: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Modrić, James; Bale, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo
Athletic Bilbao starting XI: Iraizoz, De Marcos, Balenziaga, Gupergui, Laporte, Iturraspe, Mikel Rico, Beñat, Muniain, Guillermo, Susaeta
Real Madrid subs: Keylor Navas, Varane, Arbeloa, Isco, Nacho, Chicharito, Illarramendi
Athletic Bilbao subs: Coming soon!
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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