Madrid changes context

The day of this Sunday will be very different for Real Madrid. In the game of San Mamés there will be several unprecedented circumstances for the Zidane team. The Whites have a new schedule, they will play before Barcelona and they will face Athletic with the minimum rest between games: just 62 hours since their match against Leganés ended last Thursday.

Madrid will jump onto the lawn of La Catedral without knowing the result of Barcelona. A fact that has not occurred in the previous six days of the resumption of LaLiga Santander. And that will not happen again in the remaining four unless the situation of the championship allows to 'disunify' the schedules of the last two days. The Madridistas have faced their first six commitments with the pressure of knowing the result of their rival in the fight for the title. First, not to drop; after Barça's draw at Pizjuán, to retain the lead; and after a new setback for Setién against Atlético, extend the advantage to the four points that the Whites now enjoy.

Also, those of Zidane will be released on Sunday at 14:00. An open strip for the open televised game, from which Madrid is excluded, but from which the league restart has been used to unfold schedules and schedule matches in places where the heat is less pressing. The forecast of temperature in Bilbao at the time of the game is 26 ºC, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). In order for the players to acclimatize to the schedule, Zidane has delayed the training sessions he had prior to the meeting in San Mamés by an hour and a half (at 12:30 instead of the usual 11:00).

The leader will also have the handicap of facing the visit to Athletic with his shortest rest period between games in this league restart. The white players have enjoyed 62 hours to recover from the effort in the commitment against Getafe. Those of Gaizka Garitano have had 26 and a half hours more since the end of their clash against Valencia played last Wednesday. Although this is not new. In the nine days after the confinement in which there are disparate rest periods between teams, Madrid will play seven games at a disadvantage compared to its rival.

Assuming that the last two days are played in a unified schedule (matches can be broken up if the contestants have no mathematical option to fight for any objective), Madrid will be the third team most affected in the schedules of the 11 final days of the League. Whites will accumulate a rest deficit of 100 hours and a half compared to their rivals day by day, according to an analysis by Twitter user @CarrascoPManu. And that for the next game, that of day 35 against Alavés, the Madrid players will enjoy their maximum rest period: 126 hours. Still, the Vitorian team will have 18 and a half hours more rest than those of Zidane.