Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid 16/09/18

16 September 2018

Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid are set to face off against each other at the Estadio San Mamés, with the home side seeking their first win over the 13-time European champions in the last three years.

After a tight 2-1 triumph over Leganes at home, Los Leones failed to capitalize on a 2-goal lead over Huesca, only to see two points slipping through their hands in the 87th minute when Ezequiel Avila scored an equalizing goal. The Basque-based team didn’t play the matchday-three game with Rayo Vallecano on the road after the Liga de Fútbol Profesional suspended Los Franjirrojos’ stadium over structural safety concerns, so the encounter with the Champions League winners will be their first competitive game in almost three weeks.

In addition to Barcelona, Los Blancos are the only Spanish team to achieve a maximum of three victories so far. Although the season hasn’t started as Julen Lopetegui expected, witnessing his side getting crushed by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup Final, Los Merengues have entered the new La Liga campaign on the right foot, securing a comfortable 2-0 win over Getafe at Santiago Bernabeu. Girona and Leganes also failed to keep up the pace with the rampant Real Madrid attack that scored a total of eight goals in these two matches, thus becoming one of two outlets with double figures.

Iago Herrerín, Iñigo Lekue, and Mikel Balenziaga are ruled out for the hosts due to different types of injuries, while Jesus Vallejo won’t be available for the visitors.