All of a sudden, Real Madrid have the initiative in the LaLiga title race.
By Graham Ruthven
Madrid hot on Barca’s tail
Barcelona’s recent slip-ups have handed a slight advantage to Carlo Ancelotti’s team who, following Barca’s win at Mallorca on Tuesday, now have two games in-hand over their Catalan rivals ahead of kick off against Athletic Club on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid have struggled for top form this season, but have built momentum in the league by winning nine of their last 11 matches with their only two slumps coming in games against Atlético Madrid and Barcelona.
Athletic Club have also hit a rich vein of form recently, winning four of their last five games in all competitions. The Basque outfit haven’t suffered defeat since losing to Girona in early October and will be difficult opponents for Los Blancos.
Ernesto Valverde’s team boast one of the best home records in LaLiga this season with San Mames a notoriously difficult place for away teams to visit. Despite this, Real Madrid have won their last five league games there.
Key players
Kylian Mbappé has come under intense scrutiny since his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain, but the French forward produced arguably his best performance in all-white against Getafe on Sunday.
This came with Vinícius Júnior watching from the sidelines, meaning Mbappé could operate in his preferred position on the left wing. Without Vinícius occupying the same area, Mbappé looked more like the player Real Madrid expected to be when they signed him.
Jude Bellingham has recently found goalscoring form, netting three times in his last four appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions. The Englishman is once again a driving force for the Spanish giants.
At the back, Raúl Asencio has emerged as the answer to Real Madrid’s defensive prayers following injuries to David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão.
Oihan Sancet scored both goals in Athletic Club’s 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday and is expected to be a key figure once again for the Basque outfit when Real Madrid visit San Mames. He will pose a threat.
Brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams have the ability to decide a match while Alex Berenguer is a good bet to start Wednesday’s match after impressing in the weekend victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Team news
Vinícius missed Sunday’s victory over Getafe due to a hamstring injury and is a doubt for Wednesday’s trip to the Basque Country.
Eduardo Camavinga is also expected to miss out through injury with Alaba, Carvajal and Militao all sidelined for the long-term. Despite their injury troubles, Real Madrid are finding solutions to their problems.
Beñat Prados will return from suspension after missing Sunday’s match against Rayo through yellow card accumulation. Yuri Berchiche is Athletic Club’s only injury concern at the present moment.
Valverde must decide whether to stick with Julen Agirrezabala as his first-choice goalkeeper or bring Unai Simon back into the lineup after a lengthy period out of action.
Prediction
Will stick with the recent historical trend on this one, and the fact that Ancelotti’s side are finding ways to win at the moment, so Athletic Club 1-2 Real Madrid.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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