In this week 18 match on the 22nd of January, Athletic Club hosts Real Madrid at San Mamés Barria in a meeting of these two mismatched La Liga teams. The game day is forecasted to be a cloudy and cold day, and temperatures reaching a maximum of only 2 degrees, so hopefuly the match makes up for the weather. 8th placed Athletic Club is fresh off their 1-0 shutout win against Espanyol. De Marcos struck first for Athletic Club in the 27th minute, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, Espanyol couldn’t muster any offence and Athletic Club ran away with the shutout win. Athletic Club should be reasonably happy with their recent performance, earning 20 points in their last 10 matches, while real Madrid sits at 2nd place in the tables. In their last match they recorded a 1-2 loss against Villarreal. Yeremi Jesus Pino Santos struck first for Villarreal in the 47th minute on a feed from Gerard Moreno, then Karim Benzema tied it up for Real Madrid in the 60th minute. With 20 points in their last 10 matches Real Madrid should be reasonably happy with their performance.
Real Madrid and Athletic Club last played eachother at the San Mamés Barria on Thu Feb 3rd. Athletic Club was victorious by a score of 1 to 0. Alex Berenguer struck first for Athletic Club in the 89th minute on a feed from Mikel Vesga, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, Real Madrid was frustrated by Athletic Club’s defence and couldn’t put any tallies on the board. Athletic Club ended the match with the shutout victory.
Real Madrid’s most prolific scorer has been Karim Benzema. He has netted three goals over the last 5 matches. Athletic Club’s top weapon lately has been Alex Berenguer, who has two goals in the last five matches
Íñigo Martínez and Ander Herrera are unavailable to play for Ernesto Valverde Tejedor’s team, while Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid squad will be without Carvajal, Odriozola and Mariano Díaz.