When Athletic Bilbao welcomes Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid to San Mames for their Copa del Rey quarter-final on Thursday, they will be out for vengeance. Before the international break, Los Blancos defeated their prospective hosts 2-0 in the Super Cup, with goals from Luka Modric and Karim Benzema giving the capital side the victory. Athletic Bilbao can surely look back on the first few weeks of 2021 with unbounded affection, despite their Super Cup loss in Saudi Arabia, as Marcelino guided his team to a thrilling Copa del Rey success over Barcelona only four days after their setback to Real Madrid.
Victories in La Liga, on the other hand, have been hard to come by for Marcelino’s team in recent weeks, but they went into the international break with a 1-0 triumph over Rayo Vallecano thanks to Nico Serrano’s half-time winner. Athletic’s win was only their third in La Liga in 13 games, but a new year has brought a fresh sense of confidence to the San Mames side, who have won six of their past nine games in all competitions.
Athletic won their first Copa del Rey game 2-0 against Mancha Real before beating Barcelona in extra time last time out. Marcelino’s team is looking to make it three final appearances in a row after missing out in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 editions. Athletic’s unique circumstances last year – losing to Real Sociedad in the 2020 final before falling to Barca in the 2021 edition only two weeks later – are hard to forget, and a first Copa del Rey title since 1984 is still escaping them.
The sight of Real Madrid’s prolific striker Karim Benzema leaving the field due to injury appeared to add salt to the wounds, as Los Blancos fell behind 2-0 to Francisco Rodriguez’s side three days after needing extra time to knock them out of the cup. Luka Modric’s penalty with less than 10 minutes remaining preceded an Eder Militao header in second-half injury time to rescue a point for the capital club, whose five-game winning streak in all competitions came to an end at the Bernabeu.
A four-point margin over Sevilla at the top of the La Liga table is still a solid one, but Los Blancos may come to regret those two missed points when the Champions League resumes in two weeks, with Paris Saint-Germain waiting. The 2-2 tie with Elche was the sixth game in a row in which Real Madrid has scored at least twice, and both of its Copa del Rey victories this season have come away from home, beginning with a straightforward 3-1 victory at Alcoyano.
Athletic were beaten by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final last month, their fourth straight defeat at the Bernabeu, although Los Blancos have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals three times since 2016. Athletic should approach the quarter-final with a near-clean bill of health, despite the fact that Unai Vencedor’s hamstring injury will most certainly keep him out.
After recuperating from a bout of coronavirus, Yeray Alvarez, Oihan Sancet, and Oscar de Marcos should all be able to play. Iker Muniain is also expected to play in some capacity. It remains to be seen whether the skipper is able to start, but if he isn’t, Nico Williams, 19, will make a strong case for a spot so that he can once again accompany his brother Inaki Williams. With Marcelo serving a lengthy Copa del Rey suspension and Ferland Mendy out with an adductor ailment, Carlo Ancelotti has been left short in the left-back area for this match.
Casemiro and Vinicius Junior are unlikely to play for Brazil against Paraguay, despite the fact that they have already qualified for the 2022 World Cup. Rodrygo and Federico Valverde are also in the squad. Marco Asensio has been cleared to play, but Mariano Diaz and Karim Benzema are also out, so Ancelotti may have to rely on Luka Jovic as his focal point.
Watch it live on Sofascore.