Real Madrid enter Athletic Bilbao contest as hot favourites

Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao face off this Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu in an intriguing match in the La Liga. Currently, the merengues are 1st in the table with 72 points, while Ernesto Valverde's team are 4th with 56 points. The match will be broadcast live at 15:00 on beIN SPORTS CONNECT.

Real Madrid head into this clash on the back of a 2-4 win against Osasuna (La Liga 2023/24), whilst Athletic Bilbao edged past Alavés with a 2-0 win (La Liga 2023/24). Ahead of the contest, the merengues are on a scoring run that has seen them score at least one goal a game in their past 17 matches in the Liga EA Sports 23/24. A look back at the history books shows that Carlo Ancelotti's team and Ernesto Valverde's team have faced each other two hundred forty-three times, with Real Madrid holding the advantage: 122 victories, against 76 victories of Athletic Bilbao. Specifically in the Santiago Bernabéu, the merengues have the advantage in the duels against Ernesto Valverde's team: 77 wins in 119 games, while Athletic Bilbao have 18 wins.

In the La Liga, one hundred eighty-five games were played between the two teams, with 97 wins for Real Madrid, 37 draws and 51 wins for Athletic Bilbao.

Considering the Liga EA Sports 23/24, from Real Madrid's most influential players, Rodrygo has entered the pitch 29 times, and Fede Valverde has played the most minutes (2386). Jude Bellingham is their current best scorer with 16 goals. As for Athletic Bilbao, Unai Simón is the most used player in a total of 29 games (2610 min). Gorka Guruzeta is the current best scorer with 13 goals.

The last meeting between the two teams ended with Real Madrid winning 2-0. The merengues are given the favouritism to win this match.