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Real Madrid vs. Athletic Club: Madrid’s Must-Win La Liga Clash Without Their Star Striker, Match Preview, Injury News and More

FC Barcelona Are Seven Points Ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga.

image via - @realmadrid/ X

After a disappointing exit from the Champions League following the defeat to Arsenal, Real Madrid will shift their focus to the La Liga race. The Los Blancos will host Athletic Club on Sunday, it could be termed as a crucial clash in the Spanish title scheme of things for Carlo Ancelotti and his side.

Athletic Club has had a decent campaign until now and will be expected to test the Real Madrid team in the match week 32. Ernesto Valverde’s side came in after clinching their spot in the UEL final four earlier this week. Ancelotti and his side will be asked to be on their level best if they are to keep the Athletic side at bay.

Carlo Ancelotti is expected to leave his post as Real Madrid head coach at the end of the season with hopes to next lead Brazil, per @TheAthleticFC 🤨

He's won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/HQLILGja6M
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 19, 2025

Why Is This Game a Must-Win for Real Madrid?

Real Madrid are currently trailing by seven points to league leaders Barcelona with one game less played. With only six games or 18 points to go after the match week 32, the widening of this gap would damage Los Balncos’ title hopes. Moreover, the Athletic Club is their biggest test given the next few fixtures.

With an El Classico game in hand and the point gap ideally turning to four points if Real Madrid wins today, Ancelotti’s side will push the pressure back on Barcelona. Keeping the gap intact and breathing down the league leaders all the time will be important for Real Madrid to turn these tides around.

Real Madrid Injury News

Real Madrid could suffer another major injury blow as Antonio Rudiger is speculated to go through injury. The German is said to be playing through a meniscus tear for months which might finally catch up. Other than that, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao remain the major absentees from the backline.

Ancelotti and his side will receive a boost in Eduardo Camavinga as he’s set to make a return against Athletic Club. Moreover, in the absence of their sharpshooter Kylian Mbappe through suspension, Endrick could be asked to fill in for the Frenchman at number 9 position.

Following the UCL exit, Ancelotti expressed how the squad is focusing on what’s to come as he spoke in his pre-match conference:

“The Champions League is the biggest competition, not only for Real Madrid but for every club. The history of this competition, fortunately, is the most successful part of this club’s history too. It’s not true to say the rest doesn’t mean anything. Fighting for La Liga, the Copa final and the Club World Cup is important as well.”

Real Madrid Predicted Lineup

Real Madrid Predicted XI: Courtois; Valverde, Asencio, Alaba, Garcia; Tchouameni, Camavinga; Brahim, Bellingham, Vinicius; Endrick.

🚨🇪🇸 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | La Liga will have 5 teams in the Champions League next season! ✅🏆

As it stands, this is the top 5 in the Spanish league: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atleti, Athletic Club & Villarreal. pic.twitter.com/9EQuKVODRP
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) April 20, 2025

Athletic Club Injury News

Athletic Club will miss their star winger Nico Williams who was ruled of their clash against Real Madrid. The Spaniard is reported to suffer a sports hernia ruling him out of this important clash.

Coming in from an important UEL victory over Rangers FC, Valverde and his side are focused on the La Liga campaign. Talking about wanting to do more in the league, the Athletic Club manager in his pre-match conference said:

“We want to keep performing well in La Liga. But we know this match will be difficult and we’ve played a lot of games recently. We played on Thursday night and now we go to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid, who have just been knocked out of the Champions League.”

Athletic Club Predicted Lineup

Athletic Club Predicted XI: Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue; Jauregizar, Prados; Berenguer, Sancet, Jauregizar; Guruzeta.

ALSO READ: Is It the End of the Ancelotti Era Post Exit From the Champions League?

Real Madrid vs. Athletic Club Betting Odds

Odds via – BetMGM

Teams	Moneyline	Total Goals
Real Madrid	Win: -177Draw: +295	Over 2.5: -148Under 2.5: +106
Athletic Club	Win: +440Draw: +295	Over 3.5: +180Under 3.5: -265

Carlo Ancelotti

Kylian Mbappe

Real Madrid

Mayur Dedwal

soccer

I’m a Sports Content Writer with expertise in football. Being a decade old football enthusiast and part-time coach, I try to bring to life to the articles in a statistical manner. Being around all kinds of sports updates and able to put in my perspective’s to the happenings in the world of football are few of the many things i like in doing what i do. You can find me playing Sunday leagues or Xbox on weekends!