Match Overview
Real Madrid open their new campaign of the 2023-24 La Liga season with an encounter with Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames Barria Stadium on Saturday. The visiting side will back themselves to take all the points on offer here but the home team are known to possess enough strength within themselves. They drew 1-1 with Manchester United in their previous encounter.
Key Highlights
Real Madrid will be a little worried by the fact that they have scored just seven goals in the last five matches that they have played. Athletic Bilbao have had it worse, scoring just six goals in their last five. This means that neither side has been in a good run of form and whoever gets off to a good start here will be able to take the game deep and down to the wire.
Injury Report
Real Madrid will have to make do without Arda Guler and Ferland Mendy in this game owing to the injuries that they unfortunately sustained earlier in the preseason. Bilbao, for their part, do not have any major absentees in their squad at all.
Prediction
Real Madrid have a big upper hand when they take on Bilbao in this game. However, it will be unfair to discount the impact that the home supporters will have on Bilbao in the first game of the season. Still, we expect Real Madrid to win this game. This should be a rather lopsided encounter by the end of the evening. Bilbao's defence is not in very good shape.
SPAIN. LA LIGA | W1 X W2 |
12/Aug 20:30 Athletic Bilbao VS Real Madrid | 0:2 (0:2,0:0) |