Real Madrid take on the visitors Athletic Bilbao in the round 32 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Sunday, April 20th at Estadio Stantiago Bernabeu, Madrid.
Real Madrid failed to deliver back-to-back seasons at the highest level. Los Blancos were dominant in the previous campaign, winning the Spanish Super Cup, La Liga, and the Champions League. Over the summer, it looked like the dynasty would continue. The long-anticipated arrival of Kylian Mbappé seemed to confirm it — he scored on his debut and helped secure the UEFA Super Cup. However, since then, Real have only added the Intercontinental Cup — a one-off fixture — to their trophy cabinet. They will play in the Copa del Rey final, but even there they struggled, needing a late extra-time goal from Rüdiger to squeeze past Real Sociedad after losing the second leg 1-2 and drawing 4-4 on aggregate. In the Champions League, the problems started early, and though they edged past Atlético Madrid on penalties in March, Arsenal handed them a 3-0 thrashing in London and then won again in Spain. Real briefly led La Liga, but a string of slip-ups allowed Barcelona to take over at the top. Even their recent 1-0 win against Alavés was marred by Mbappé’s foolish red card.
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Athletic Club reunited with Ernesto Valverde in 2022. His first year back was underwhelming, as Osasuna peaked at the right time — Athletic lost to them both in the Copa del Rey semi-finals and the race for 7th place. But the progress was steady, and last spring they exploded into life, winning the Copa del Rey for the first time since 1984 — a symbolic anniversary. This season will be remembered mainly for their return to European football. Athletic topped their Europa League group with 19 points, then eliminated Roma despite losing the first leg in Italy. Against Rangers, they earned a professional 2-0 home win after a goalless draw in Glasgow. In La Liga, Nico Williams and his teammates held firm in the top four for most of the season, although they began to drop points more frequently in the second half. Still, their last outing — a solid 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano — suggests they’re ending the campaign strong.
Last season, the title-bound Madrid side comfortably beat their historic rivals twice. But in December, Athletic took revenge with a 2-1 win in Bilbao. The Galácticos are expected to win, but right now they seem unable to pull it all together. Back the visitors with a +1 handicap.
Prediction for the match: Athletic Bilbao to win with +1.0 handicap.
