Atletico Madrid will be aiming to move one step closer to La Liga glory when they face off against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames on Sunday.
Diego Simeone’s men find themselves three points clear of second-place Real Madrid with just six games left to play this season.
💪 ¡A por la jornada 3⃣2⃣!📸 Primer entrenamiento para empezar a preparar el #AthleticAtleti de este domingo (21:00 h)#AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/jIMOTeSzuh— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) April 22, 2021
💪 ¡A por la jornada 3⃣2⃣!📸 Primer entrenamiento para empezar a preparar el #AthleticAtleti de este domingo (21:00 h)#AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/jIMOTeSzuh
On the flip side, Athletic Bilbao find themselves tenth – a whopping 35 points behind title-chasing Atletico Madrid.
Remarkably, Bilbao have drawn each of their previous five La Liga games, with their last league win coming back in early March.
Having lost to Atletico last month, Bilbao are currently enduring a six-match winless run in Spain’s top-flight.
To make matters worse, Bilbao suffered a heft 4-0 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final last weekend.
Bilbao were in with a shot of lifting the trophy before collapsing and conceding four goals in the space of 12 second-half minutes.
Following a 5-0 thrashing of Eibar, Atletico Madrid secured back-to-back victories on Thursday – beating Huesca 2-0.
Angel Correa and Yannick Carrasco got the goals in midweek, meaning both players have scored three goals in their last three La Liga games.
Looking at the bigger picture, Atletico have only lost one of their previous nine league matches – picking up five wins and three draws in that time.
Having conceded just 20 goals in 32 outings this term, Simeone’s side boast the best defensive record in La Liga.
With a record of W22-D7-L3 this season, Atletico are on the verge of clinching their first La Liga title since 2013/14.
Head-to-head: Atletico Madrid beat Bilbao 2-1 in the reverse fixture just last month, thanks to goals from Marcos Llorente and Luis Suarez.
Atletico also went unbeaten against Bilbao last season, claiming a 2-0 home win before drawing 1-1 at San Mames.
Team news: Athletic Bilbao only have one injury concern ahead of Sunday’s clash, with defensive midfielder Peru Nolsakoain likely to miss out.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid look set to be without forward duo Luis Suarez and Joao Felix this weekend.
Given that Bilbao can’t find a win at the moment and Atletico are chasing the title, Simeone’s men are expected to get the job done this weekend.
Forebet predicts that Atletico Madrid will keep a clean sheet on their way to beating Bilbao.