La Liga: Los Blancos Can Already Smell Blood

Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid

Los Blancos are inching closer towards to their first La Liga crown in over three years, and one can argue that it is theirs for the taking – or to lose.

After stringing together a couple of favourable La Liga 2020 results, Real Madrid remain on top of the standings with 74 points, which is four points ahead of their rivals in FC Barcelona.

Zinedine Zidane’s men have been on fire since the league’s restart. They’ve already compiled six successive wins and they are looking as sharp as ever.

But even if they are in good rhythm, Real Madrid can’t afford to take their eyes off the prize considering how dangerous FC Barcelona can be.

“We haven’t won anything yet. Until we are mathematically champions, we have to keep going. Our rivals are going to do everything they can to win in their games,” said team boss Zinedine Zidane during a recent press conference.

So now they will turn their focus on Athletic Bilbao who have been in decent form as of late. The eighth-seeded team in the Spanish top-flight will look to wield the upset axe in order to grab their third straight win and add more points for their campaign.

Without further ado, here is the match preview from SBOBET.

Talking Points

Zinedine Zidane insists that the job is not done yet

Zizou knows a thing or two in terms of winning championships in La Liga. And now that he’s leading Real Madrid this time as their manager, he’s doing all he can for his boys to maintain their hunger for the big trophy.

Ever since they lost to Manchester City in their last Champions League game, Los Blancos won in El Clasico and against Real Betis prior to the coronavirus mandated break.

Their momentum has carried over up to this day to where they’ve won six consecutive matches – with Eibar, Valencia, Real Sociedad, RCD Mallorca, Espanyol, and Getafe as their victims.

Sergio Ramos has been the heart and soul behind Real Madrid’s ascension. Besides being reliable on the defensive end, the team captain has poured in goals when called upon, making him the highest-scoring defender in Spanish top-flight history.

Other heroes have stepped up too for Los Blancos, as the trio of Casemiro, Vinicius Jr., Karim Benzema continue to torch their opponents with their attacking skill and IQ.

As we approach the final stretch of the 2019/20 season, Real Madrid would need to have all hands on deck in order to secure the crown.

Unfortunately for them at least in this match, they would have to do so without Raphael Varane due to a concussion that he sustained in their last fixture.

Varane’s absence will leave a void at the centre-back position, but I expect Eder Militao to fill in nicely for him.

La Liga: Raul Garcia is leading the Athletic frontline in superb fashion — Raul Garcia’s brace gives Athletic Bilbao three important points at Mestalla

Bilbao looking to build off their momentum

Similar to Los Blancos, Los Leones are in good form too – winning two straight after putting up a valiant effort in a defeat against Barcelona last June.

Gaizka Garitano and his men will be keen to maintain their run in order to somehow make a last gasp attempt at a Europa League berth.

As is stands now, they only trail six points behind the fifth-seeded Villarreal squad. So if they can score a couple more wins, not only they will upset Real Madrid, they might overtake others for the said spot.

Raul Garcia is the talisman for Bilbao as he scored three goals in the last two matches. Asier Villalibre, Iker Muniain, and Inaki Williams are quite a class of their own in the attack and they should try to find a way to exploit the absence of Raphael Varane.

Los Leones are uniquely qualified to make things interesting on Sunday as they have the tools to make life uncomfortable for Real Madrid.

History

These two teams have faced each other in 45 matches already.

Real Madrid own the upper hand in the overall head-to-heads with 30 wins while Athletic Bilbao won in eight along with seven draws.

One of the said drawn matches just happened last December when these two were held to a goalless stalemate. Real Madrid’s attack was struggling all night long against a sturdy Bilbao defence at the Bernabeu.

Betting Tip

	Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid	Real Madrid Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 1.93
	July 5, 20:00 (GMT+8)

The La Liga 2020 odds have Real Madrid as the huge favourites in the 1×2 market as they are being priced at 1.71, while Athletic Bilbao are pegged significantly lower at 4.90 and chances for a draw are also low at 3.55.

While it’s easy to bet on Real Madrid for this one, a quick look on their recent performances show that some of their victories aren’t that much convincing – paving a way for a possible upset in favour of the home team.

However, Los Blancos will always remain a class above Los Leones in terms of overall quality and that should determine the difference in this match.