Real Madrid vs Athletic Club prediction 23.05.2026 | La Liga

Things have become a little uncomfortable around the Bernabéu lately. A season without silverware is already difficult to accept at Real Madrid, but the way it unfolded made it worse. First came the Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.

Then Barcelona arrived and won 2-0, effectively shutting the door on any serious title ambitions. Madrid supporters can forgive many things. Falling short quietly is usually not one of them.

Even so, the response afterwards was decent enough. The wins against Real Oviedo and Sevilla restored a bit of pride. The Bernabéu continues to feel dependable too. Álvaro Arbeloa’s side have taken four victories from their last five home league matches there.

There is also some encouraging team news. Federico Valverde should return in midfield after recovering from the head injury he picked up following a training-ground collision with Aurélien Tchouaméni.

Dani Carvajal may start ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back, and honestly, that feels symbolic. Farewell appearances at clubs like Madrid rarely come without emotion.

For Athletic Club, this campaign has felt oddly flat after the optimism of last season. The Lions ended the previous year in fourth and seemed to have a clear direction under Ernesto Valverde. Somehow, though, things never really clicked.

Bilbao now sit 12th heading into the final round with only 45 points, which sounds worse when you remember where this squad was expected to be a few months ago. Even so, the table is tight enough that Europe is still not completely out of reach.

Form, however, has become a genuine issue. Valverde’s men are winless in three matches and managed just one goal during that run. Away games have been particularly rough. The Basque side lost five of their last six on the road, and confidence looks fragile at times.

There are injury concerns too. Nico Williams is sidelined again with a hamstring problem, while Beñat Prados remains unavailable with a knee injury.