Real Madrid CF - Athletic Bilbao
Football: Spanish La Liga.
Saturday, 8th May 2010. Kickoff 21:00

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Real Madrid CF

Real Madrid is steaming forward to the La Liga title. Although they still don't hold their destiny in own hands, the parallel game between Sevilla and Barcelona may hold something positive in store.

After surviving a major scare in the home game against Osasuna, Los Blancos went to the Balearic isles to confidently dismantle Mallorca 1-4. C. Ronaldo's treble and Higuain's modest addition made Aduriz' 16th minute opener go unnoticed.

Exceptionally strong home record almost guarantees Real Madrid the necessary 3 points on Saturday, but the news coming from Sevilla may have some influence on the script of the game. So theoretically Manuel Pellegrini could ask to score as soon as possible, which could serve as an insurance from negative reports from Sevilla. At the same time the early lead may also possibly put pressure on Barcelona.

Pellegrini is without captain Raul and Pepe, while Rafael Van der Vaart is a major doubt.

Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao has lost the dream to qualify for the Champions League, but still within a chance of jumping on the train to Europa League as they sit 8th in the table. Bilbao's 5 game current winless streak couldn't have come at a worst moment, however they have no one else to blame but themselves.

Bottom ranked Malaga kept Athletic to a 1-1 draw at the San Mames on the midweek matchday. Toquero got the early lead on the 4th minute, but Portuguese international Duda put his team-mates on level terms. Something has gone wrong in Caparros' attacking mechanism as Athletic is getting goals with enormous problems. 2 scored goals in last 5 La Liga fixtures looks problematic before the visit to Santiago Bernabeu.

Visitors can take the confidence from the 1-0 victory against Merengues, which dates back to the 16th of January'10. Much credit should be addressed to the traditional of San Mames stadium when it comes to welcoming big clubs like Real or Barca.

Betting advice

Athletic European ambitions are so insignificant and impossible, that I expect nothing but a home win here. The previous fixture against Osasuna has shown, though, that Real can create problems out of nothing for themselves, but it should not happen again.

A worthy bet may be to take an early goal considering what we've mentioned above, over 3 goal line and the -2 handicap on hosts.

The Statistics :

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Over 3,5 goals @ 1.89 with Bet365

Take First goal up to including 22nd minute @ 1.83 with Bet365

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Real Madrid(-2) @ 1.70 with Bet365 (main bet)