The bomber flies over Athletic and Unai Simón

Athletic is four points behind European places, with one game less, nine from relegation, it is the team that concedes the fewest goals in the First Division and has not yet lost outside of San Mamés. A comfortable situation, arithmetically, wrapped in an atmosphere of general pessimism about team performance. Mainly because of the eight draws, many of them frustrating, and because it has missed a favorable sequence of matches: four tied and one defeat against Espanyol, Real Sociedad, Cádiz, Levante and Granada. Now the fans fear the worst, with two duels against Madrid in December, today at the Bernabéu and on the 22nd in San Mamés, and the visits of Sevilla and Betis (Follow today’s game live on As.com).

Marcelino it is a trainer with immediate effect. Athletic knows it well, who hired him in January 2021 and that same month gave him the Super Cup, after winning Madrid and Barça. He also got him into the Cup final, which he lost to the Catalans. Another thing is the long range. In fact, only at Villarreal has he been more than three full seasons. Last season he did not get Athletic in Europe (he finished tenth) and in Bilbao he presents the second most negative balance of his career. He has achieved 46.97% of the points. It was only worse in the eight months he spent at Sevilla (44.44%).

Muniain’s weight

Athletic, an overly restrictive market team, is having a hard time regenerating. Of the three players added this year, only Vivian has had some consistency in the eleven. The team is still practically in the same hands, with Muniain as a main player, at a point of great maturity and at the highs of his career. 77% of the plays that ended in a goal passed through his feet. To get an idea of ​​what it weighs, Benzema is at 59%, Memphis at 65% and De Tomás at 67%.. Meanwhile, Williams has not finished solving his problems with the goal. He has been in three this season, the same as Raúl García, but in no course has he exceeded 15. And Berenguer is not helping either: he has not scored for seven months, although he is expected today. So Athletic has only 13 goals, two of them own goals. That, yes, eight came from set pieces, where he concentrates almost all his danger.

The strong point of the team, in any case, is behind. He has only conceded ten goals thanks to Unai Simon, to which football opened unexpected doors. In 2018 he spent twenty days on loan to Elche until the stars aligned in his favor: Kepa went to Chelsea, Remiro decided not to renew and Herrerín was injured. So he went from fourth to first. And a moment of weakness of De Gea and Kepa led him to the starting position in the National Team. Today he will be worse protected, because the starting centrals are missing: Vivian, injured, and Iñigo Martínez, sanctioned. Yeray and Unai Núñez will patch the hole.

Nacho and Valverde’s time

Bad day to improvise because in front they will have the two best scorers in the League: Benzema, 11 goals, and Vinicius, 9; the last, decisive against Sevilla. Madrid dominates all the offensive records of the League and only fatigue rises before them as a great threat. The effort is highly concentrated on ten footballers, some of them veterans (Modric, Kroos) or with a history of frequent muscle injuries (Carvajal). That circle of confidence of Ancelotti has closed the doors to a third of the squad, which now seems difficult to recover. Today those that the technician still considers to be in good use may have a chance. To start Nacho. Alaba forced himself to be against Sevilla, but yesterday he trained alone. Although it is on the list, it sounds like it will be left for an emergency.

Also happens from possible to probable Valverde, who has been injured for a month and has been absent in six games. It is the best patch for the magnificent three and the team needs their vigor in the face of the Alpine calendar in which it is immersed. Modric points to the bench.

And up, maybe Lucas Vazquez have a prize for the vacancy of the right wing, where Asensio does not just throw the door down either. Today there will be more competition after Hazard and Rodrygo’s gastroenteritis had subsided. The Belgian has been out of the loop for too long.

The duel, an absolute classic in Spanish football, has been greatly depreciated at the Bernabéu due to Athletic’s lack of drive, which is one at home and one smaller away. He has not beaten Madrid at home since 2005, with Vanderlei Luxemburg and Valverde on the benches. However, Marcelino has beaten him four times leading four different teams. And in the game pack comes Raúl García, who has scored four goals and has seen 18 yellows and two reds in 39 games. Madrid warms his blood.