Match Today: Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao 22-01-2023 La Liga

Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid will face a highly anticipated LaLiga match at Nuevo San Mamés and Bilbao, currently in eighth place, will be looking to capitalize on their impressive home form and move into the top five with a win over the defending champions.

Real Madrid, who currently occupies second place in the standings, three points behind Barcelona, ​​hopes to continue its recent run in terms of form and close the gap with the league leaders. However, they have been struggling in their final matches in LaLiga, remaining winless in their last three games and only scoring once in the process despite this, it has been a solid defense which has seen four of the last six competitive matches they have played under 1.

They were again poor in the first half of their Copa del Rey tie against Villarreal in midweek, trailing 2-0 at the break. However a team that was defined by their impressive comeback wins last season showed they hadn't quite lost their finesse with Viene Jr. and Eder Militao scoring. and Dani Ceballos after the break to seal a 3-2 win at Ceramica Stadium. They should head north with a bit of spring in their step on the back of this win. Athletic's defensive woes with their first-choice centre-backs missing here could probably turn this match in Real Madrid's favour.

Karim Benzema hasn't been at his best this season but this could be the stage for him to showcase his class again, although Athletic will certainly do his best.

Where Bilbao have been particularly strong, however, is at home where they have had five wins and a draw in their last six matches and no goals conceded.

They have the second-best home defense in the division, with just four goals conceded in nine matches at San Mamés, and they've also been unbeaten in three of their last six meetings with Real Madrid, five of them scoring less than a goal.

This may pose problems for the current champions and make the match difficult for them. On the other hand, Real Madrid comes out with a positive result in its match against Villarreal in the King's Cup, as it overcame its 2-0 deficit to qualify for the quarter-finals.

However, they have still been struggling after the World Cup break with two defeats in their last four matches and conceding eight goals in their last four matches, it also wasn't easy when visiting Bilbao as they have only managed five wins in their last ten matches there, they will need to improve their form out of the box. their home ground if they hope to win this match.

Athletic Bilbao have won five and drawn in their last six home matches and have not conceded any goals Athletic Bilbao has the second best home defense in the division conceding four goals in nine matches Athletic Bilbao has not lost in three of its last six meetings with Real Madrid Five Of which he scored less than a goal.

Real Madrid have seen three of their last four away matches fall short of a goal. Real Madrid have lost two of their last four matches. In conclusion, this match could be closely related as both teams are showing strong defensive performances. Bilbao's superiority at home and their strong defense could give them the advantage in This is a game where Real Madrid are likely to struggle to break through. They both have major finals in the quarter-finals of the cup and are looking forward to this next week as well but neither will look further than this game as Athletic will be hoping for their first league win since the break.

Back-to-back goalless draws were followed by a 3-1 defeat in the Basque derby in Donostia last weekend and Ernesto Valverde's side are not quite convincing at the moment. The somewhat enigmatic absence of Iker Munayen continued with Athletic's most creative players not taking turns in winning the Copa del Rey 1-0 at Espanyol. in the middle of the week.

Given the quality of the opposition here, it is likely that Valverde will opt for a more combative midfield again, his main concern will be in the center of defence, despite Yeray being suspended and Ingo Martinez still suffering from an injury that could rule him out again.