Los Blancos will be determined to move one step closer to retaining their Spanish Super Cup crown and book a ticket to La Cartuja.
Real Madrid lock horns with Athletic Bilbao on Thursday evening in the second semi-final of the Supercopa de Espana.
Zinedine Zidane’s men have gone through a bit of an inconsistent run over the past week or so but will need to avoid any slip-up when they begin their title defense.
Athletic Club are starting a new era under Marcelino Garcia Toral and the new manager and will see this as an excellent opportunity to make an immediate impact and win silverware.
Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao Form:
The La Liga titleholders were denied a win in their previous outing and are now winless in two of their last four matches.
They find themselves four points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, who also have two games in hand, after they were held to a goalless draw against Osasuna.
Being defensively sound won them the title last season but they have been poor in that department this term, conceding 15 goals in 18 La Liga games.
Speaking of the positives, Los Blancos are unbeaten in their last nine matches across all competitions and beat their upcoming opponents 3-1 in the last meeting a month ago.
Athletic go into the match on the back of a 3-2 defeat to FC Barcelona. They have managed to record just two wins in their last nine matches.
The Basque side, who have lifted clinched the Supercopa trophy on two occasions in 1984 and 2015, are still waiting to play the Copa del Rey finals amid the chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao Head-to-head:
Two of the oldest clubs in Spanish history, they have faced each other 234 times. Real Madrid have won 116 of those encounters while 74 have gone in Athletic Bilbao’s way.
The men in all white can be optimistic going into this clash, having last been bettered by those in white & red in the 2014-15 campaign.
Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao Team News:
Dani Carvajal remains unavailable due to a muscular injury and so are Luka Jovic and long-term injury absentee Rodrygo.
Yuri Berchiche, Peru Nolaskoain, and Unai Lopez will be the absentees for Bilbao with all three recovering from their respective injuries.
Predicted line-ups:
Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao Latest Odds:
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