Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao 12/1/2021 LaLiga Soccer Picks, Best Bets and Odds

Real Madrid is welcoming Athletic Bilbao to Santiago Bernabeu in the postponed game of round 9 in the Spanish LaLiga. Real Madrid is playing their best soccer of the season right now, and they are on a 6-game winning streak. Bilbao is not losing a lot of games, but they have a lot of draws thanks to them being the best defensive team in the league.

Real Madrid is at the top of LaLiga with 33 points right now, and they are the best offensive team in the league with 34 scored goals. Defensively, Real is also solid with 15 scored goals. Real Madrid was playing against Sevilla at home in their last LaLiga game this past weekend, and they have had 53% of ball possession, 4 shots on goal, 0 corner kicks, 1 big chance created, and 89% of the correct passes. Real has conceded first in the 12^th minute, but Real tied the score just 20 minutes later, and they have scored another one in the 87^th minute. It took a lot of effort, but Real has won this game 2-1. The good news for Real Madrid is they are safe in the Champions League, but they certainly don’t want to lose to Inter in the last round. Benzema is in excellent form so far this season, and he is the leading goalscorer for Real with 11 goals and 7 assists. Real Madrid has another big game this upcoming weekend, and I think coach Ancelotti will try to rotate as many players as he can for this game.

Bilbao is now the best defensive team in the league with only 10 conceded goals, but their offense is not as good with only 13 scored goals. Bilbao has been brilliant on the road so far this season, and they haven’t lost any of their last 9 away games, but they have only 1 away win so far. This past weekend, Bilbao was playing against Granada at home, and they were favorites in that game, but they didn’t justify that. Bilbao was dominant with 63% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 8 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and 83% of the correct passes. Bilbao did get ahead in the 10^th minute, but they were losing 1-2 before halftime. Luckily for Bilbao, they scored in the 76^th minute, and the final result was 2-2, and another draw for Athletic Bilbao. There are a few injuries in Bilbao right now, but those players have been injured for a while. Defensively, Bilbao has nailed it, but their offense needs a lot more work, and without it, they won’t qualify for Europe.

With a solid defense that Real Madrid has, I don’t see Bilbao scoring here, while Real’s offense is in great form, and they will go through the best defense in the league. It will be a tight game, but Real gets the win.