Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao

The stakes are high for Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao as they meet in a top-four La Liga six-pointer at the Metropolitano Stadium. 

Atletico Madrid’s season is on the verge of falling apart. After a disastrous Champions League quarter-final exit against Borussia Dortmund, Diego Simeone’s side slumped to a 2-0 defeat at La Liga minnows Deportivo Alaves last weekend, compromising their chances of securing a top-four finish. With three points separating them from fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, they still hold the upper hand despite suffering three losses across their last five league outings (W2). Simeone must stop Atletico’s defensive leaks to steady the ship, with Los Rojiblancos conceding in 12 consecutive matches across all competitions for the first time in the 21st century. However, they’ve flopped in all three competitive meetings with Bilbao this season, losing each without scoring, including a 2-0 defeat in December’s reverse fixture in the Basque Country.

Luckily for Atletico, Athletic Bilbao’s form doesn’t make for good reading, with Ernesto Valverde’s side failing to win their last four competitive games inside 90 minutes (D3, L1) despite lifting the Copa del Rey trophy in this sequence. Back-to-back 1-1 draws against Granada and Villarreal put Los Leones in a must-win situation, which is not a place where they want to be ahead of their trip to Madrid. Indeed, you’d need to go back to January 2011 for Bilbao’s last La Liga win at the Metropolitano Stadium (D2, L10 since). Moreover, they’ve drawn a blank in their two most recent away league H2Hs against the Madrid outfit (L2), suggesting a third consecutive win on the road could be a tall order.