Real Madrid have been excellent when playing at the Santiago Bernabeu this season. Ancelotti’s side are the only team in La Liga to remain unbeaten on home soil, with his men winning 12 and drawing two of their 14 home matches thus far.

Real Madrid have impressed going forward when playing at home, scoring an average of 2.5 goals per game. However, their defensive record is even more impressive, conceding an average of just 0.5 goals per home match, and keeping eight clean sheets across their 14 outings.

Athletic have been inconsistent on the road this season, failing to win nine of their 14 away fixtures. The visitors have struggled in recent away matches, picking up just five points from their last five away trips. Ernesto Valverde will be concerned with the fact that his side have scored an average of just 0.8 goals per game along this run.

Real Madrid breezed to a 2-0 win when the sides met in August, having a greater share of possession and a greater expected goals tally. With Real’s convincing home record and Athletic’s difficulties on their travels, we expect the hosts to pick up three points here.

No La Liga side has registered more shots on target than Real Madrid this season, with the hosts taking an average of 6.4 shots on target per game. This average has been even higher in Real Madrid’s recent home matches, with the hosts amassing an average of 7 shots on target per game across their last five outings.

Real Madrid’s top scorer, Jude Bellingham, has played a pivotal role in this, registering an average of 1.3 shots on target per game across the campaign. The Englishman, who scored in his last meeting with Athletic Bilbao, has hit the target at least once in five of his last six league appearances.

Another attacking threat is Rodrygo, who has registered an average of 1.4 shots on target per match this season. The Brazilian forward has been firing in recent weeks, finding the target an average of 1.8 times per game across his last five appearances.

The pair will be hopeful of punishing an Athletic defence that allowed Real Madrid to find the target eight times when they met in August.

A price of 1.36 is available for Bellingham to find the target at least once here, with the same value being offered for Rodrygo to do the same.

When it comes to corners, Real Madrid top the charts in La Liga, taking an average of 6.1 corners per match across the campaign. As a result of this, the hosts have regularly dominated the corner count, taking more corners than their opponents in six of their last eight games on home soil.

The visitors have failed to force many corners on the road this term. This has been apparent across their recent away trips, forcing an average of just 5 corners per game across their last six away matches. Valverde’s side have taken less corners than their opponents in four of their last six outings.

The bookies are offering a value bet of 1.40 for the hosts to take more corners than Athletic in this one.

Athletic Bilbao have committed masses of fouls in domestic matches this season, fouling an average of 13.9 times per league match so far. Valverde’s men have committed a minimum of 12 fouls in all of their last six away fixtures.

One player that is not shy of a tackle is Dani Vivian. The Spanish defender has committed an average of 1.2 fouls per game across the season and has fouled at least once in ten of his last 12 starts for Athletic Club.

It is expected that Vivian will have the difficult task of dealing with the likes of Rodrygo and Bellingham, who have collectively drawn an average of 4.3 fouls per match this season.