After a disappointing season last time out, Real Madrid are all set to kick start their 2023/24 La Liga campaign with an away fixture against Athletic Club.
Real Madrid are all set to hit the road to square up against Athletic Club at San Mames on Saturday evening. While it is expected to be a closely-fought encounter, both teams will be eager to get things started in the 2023/24 campaign with a win.
Athletic Club missed out on European football last time out by the barest of margins, and they will be looking to work on it and improve their position on the points table this time out. The home team finished eighth on the points table, with 51 points to their name.
They were two points behind seventh-placed Osasuna who made it to the UEFA Conference League. Missing out on European football was surely a blow because they were in the thick of things right until the end. But, a string of poor results towards the end cost them.
Athletic only managed to win one out of their last five matches; had they put up a better fight, they would have been featuring in Europe this season. However, they now have a chance to start fresh, and if they manage to get one better over Real Madrid right at the start, it will surely be a major boost for the entire squad.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid a had poor season last time out. They were behind in the title race throughout and ended up finishing second on the points table. Los Blancos finished ten points behind league leaders Barcelona, and they surely have a lot to work on this time out.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men had multiple opportunities to cover up the gap, but they failed to capitalise on opportunities and ended up gifting Barcelona the league title without much trouble. This time out they will be looking to put up a better fight.
Even their Champions League campaign did not go according to plan, as they were humiliated by Manchester City in the second leg of the semi-final. Despite the disappointment in La Liga and UCL, they did end the season with the Copa del Rey trophy to their name.
A lot has changed at Real Madrid since the end of the 2022-23 season; there are a lot of new faces who will surely make them a much stronger outfit. And, they are expected to put up a fight for the league title right until the end. The first challenge that they face in the league is an away match against Athletic and The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at it and tries to predict the tactics the two teams could use.
Team News & Tactics
Athletic Club
Ernesto Valverde is expected to have a full squad at his disposal when he takes on Real Madrid. A few of their players have left the club as free agents during the summer window but they haven’t made any major signings apart from Íñigo Ruiz de Galarreta. As a result, they are expected to have a similar core and a similar tactic for the 2023/24 season.
⌛ Applying the finishing touches before Saturday's showdown at San Mames!#AthleticRealMadrid #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/GlbA4VQxiA
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) August 10, 2023
Valverde is expected to go ahead with the 4-2-3-1 formation, where Real Madrid-linked Unai Simon will be in goal. Oscar de Marcos and Inigo Lekue will start out wide in defence as the full-backs. In the heart of the defence, Yeray Alvarez will pair up with Dani Vivian.
New signing Galarreta will start alongside Mikel Vesga in the centre of the park. The duo will form the double pivot in the midfield. They will look to provide a solid cover to their backline and lay the foundation for their attack.
Nico Williams and Iker Muniain will feature on the flanks. Oihan Sancet is expected to be the attacking midfielder behind their number Inaki Williams.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Simon; De Marcos, Alvarez, Vivian, Lekue; Ruiz de Galarreta, Vesga; Nico Williams, Sancet, Muniain; Inaki Williams
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti already has a number of injury concerns to deal with. He is likely to be without four players for the opening fixture of the season. New signing Arda Guler picked up an injury in pre-season and is expected to be out for a while.
Meanwhile, Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos have some muscular issues, and they are unlikely to be fit for this fixture. The biggest blow Real Madrid have received so far is the injury to Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian international has suffered an ACL injury and won’t be available for months.
⚔️💥 HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING!
🔜 #AthleticRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/DVtaIWSws3— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) August 11, 2023
Ancelotti’s team have started to look for a replacement but for now, Andriy Lunin will take his place in goal. The Italian manager is expected to try out the 4-4-2 formation at the start of the season with a diamond in the midfield.
With Lunin in goal, Fran Garcia and Dani Carvajal are expected to be the full-backs. In the heart of the defence, Eder Militao should pair up with David Alaba. In the centre of the park, the experienced duo of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos could start on the bench.
Aurelien Tchouameni is expected to start as the defensive midfielder. On the right, he will have the support of Federico Valverde while on the left it will be Eduardo Camavinga. And, Real Madrid’s newest galactico Jude Bellingham will start as an attacking midfielder.
Vinicius Junior will pair up with his Brazilian teammate Rodrygo Goes up top. With Karim Benzema no longer at the club, the duo will be responsible for the majority of the goals and they would love to kick things off in the best possible way.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Lunin; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
Key Stats
- The two teams have squared up against each other on 55 occasions. Real Madrid have won 37 matches while the home team has won just ten times.
- Real Madrid have not lost at San Mames in La Liga since March 2015.
- Los Blancos have a winning streak of four matches away from home against Bilbao.
- Inaki Williams had a total of 13 goal contributions for Atheltic Club last season in the league.
- Real Madrid’s Rodrygo had a total of 18 goal contributions in La Liga last season.
Player to Watch
Federico Valverde
Valverde was on fire at the start of last season. But towards the end of it, he ran out of gas and did not have the kind of impact that was expected. The 25-year-old will head into this season, to once again prove himself a versatile player who can contribute with goals and assists as well as on the defensive side of things.
The Uruguayan international had 11 goal contributions in La Liga last season, and he will be eager to produce even better numbers this season and more importantly, he will look to be consistent throughout. He is expected to start against Bilbao and could end up being the difference between the two teams.
Prediction
Athletic Club 1-2 Real Madrid
The absence of Thibaut Courtois will surely be felt by Real Madrid in goal. While Andriy Lunin is a decent replacement, he cannot really fit the big boots of the Belgian international who is considered to be the best goalkeeper in the world by many pundits.
However, Real Madrid still have a good enough squad to get past Atheltic Club despite the injuries to their key players. Los Blancos have not lost against Ahletic from home for a while now and they are expected to keep that record intact.
With Real Madrid expected to start with the 4-4-2 rather than the traditional 4-3-3, they might not be as free following in the initial stage and it might be a very closely contested fixture. However, in the end, Real Madrid should come out on top with a scoreline of 2-1.
