Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Real Madrid (LaLiga MD19)

One of the first matches Athleticzales look for when the fixture list is released, and one of the oldest and most important matches in European football history, San Mames prepares to host Real Madrid in LaLiga for the 187th time.

The 2024/25 edition has all the ingredients of another classic, both teams are unbeaten in the league since October and both are looking to consolidate their place at the top end of the table.

Match Info
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid

San Mames, Bilbao

LaLiga EA Sports 24/25 (Matchday 19)

Wednesday December 4, 21:00 CET

Tickets can be purchased via this link. 

 

How to Watch
Check out our global TV guide to make sure you don't miss the match 
 

Team News
Valverde named a 24-man squad for the clash in Bilbao.

Ander Herrera has been sidelined with a hamstring issue, while Alex Padilla also drops out of the matchday squad.

Valverde's Comments
Catch up with everything he had to say at his pre-match press conference. 

The Opponents

Head coach: Carlo Ancelotti

A coach that needs no introduction, one of the modern greats, the 65-year-old Italian's trophy cabinet is impressive: five Champions Leagues, two LaLigas, two Copas del Rey, one Ligue 1, one Premier League, one FA Cup, one Bundesliga, one Coppa Italia and one Serie A, amongst a host of other individual and collective honours.
 

Top scorer: Kylian Mbappé

The French forward finally signed for Real Madrid this summer. Although just 25 years old, Mbappé has been playing and scoring at the highest level since breaking into the Monaco first team in the 2015/16 season.

A year later, he was instrumental in helping the Monagasques win the Ligue 1. His performances saw Paris Saint-Germain sign him on loan with an obligatory purchase clause of €180 million, the highest fee ever paid for a teenager.

Kylian continued to flourish in the French capital, regularly scoring more than 30 goals a season as PSG dominated the domestic scene.

The striker made his Real Madrid debut in their 2-0 UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta. So far, he has scored eights goal in 13 LaLiga appearances.
 

Recent form: WLWWW

Los Merengues are in imperious form. From their first 14 matches of the campaign, they have won 10, drawn three and lost just one.

Previous Meetings
One of LaLiga's only ever-present fixtures, as Athletic and Real Madrid, along with FC Barcelona, have never been relegated from the top-flight, this will be the 187th league meeting between the two teams.
 

This will be the 94th clash at San Mames. Real Madrid's first ever visit saw Athletic run out 2-0 winners in 1929. The Lions' most recent LaLiga victory over Los Merengues came in 2014/15. 
 

However, since then the wins have been harder to come by, with Real Madrid winning all five of their latest LaLiga visits to San Mames.
 

The Lions' most recent win over Real Madrid in any competition came in the 2021/22 Copa del Rey, when Alex Berenguer bagged an 89th-minute when to help Athletic advance to the semi-finals.