Real Madrid vs Athletic Club Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News

Real Madrid welcome Athletic Club to Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Tuesday evening as they look to build momentum in La Liga before Christmas.

Zinedine Zidane's side have not been at their best so far this season, though things have taken an upturn recently. Los Blancos qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach before beating Atletico Madrid by the same scoreline on Saturday.

That victory over Atleti moved Real up to third in the league, three points behind leaders Real Sociedad, while upcoming opponents Athletic are down in 12th.

Where to Watch

When Is Kick Off? Tuesday 15 December
What Time Is Kick Off? 21:00 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? Santiago Bernabeu
TV Channel? Premier Sports (UK), fuboTV (US)

Team News

Eden Hazard is still not fit after hobbling off after 28 minutes in the 2-1 loss to Alaves in late November. Serbian striker Luka Jovic is also ruled out.

Casemiro is suspended after picking up a booking in the 2-0 Madrid derby victory, so Federico Valverde - who has returned to fitness - could slot straight into midfield.

Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema and Lucas Vazquez will likely feature in the three forward roles, with Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane partnering each other at the back.

Mikel Vesga was taken off at the start of the second half in Athletic's 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend and faces a late fitness test for Tuesday's game. Asier Villalibre scored last time out and should start again.

Predicted Lineups

Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Modric, Valverde, Kroos; Vazquez, Benzema, Vinicius.

Athletic Club: Simon; Capa, Nunez, Martinez, Yuri; Lopez, D. Garcia; Williams, R. Garcia, Muniain; Villalibre.

Recent Form

Real did enough to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League as their group went down to the wire. The 2-0 win over Monchengladbach spared their blushes and eased the pressure on Zidane, while they've also won their last two La Liga games and could go joint top with Real Sociedad and Atletico with a win.

Losses to Cadiz, Valencia and Alaves have been disappointing, but otherwise Real have won seven of their 12 league games so far this season.

Athletic are winless in three games in La Liga, with their last win coming against Real Betis towards the end of November.

They've only managed four victories all season and are yet to win back to back games. The Basque side are winless in their last five games against Real Madrid and have only managed two goals, conceding six.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid 2-0 Atletico Madrid (12/12)
Real Madrid 2-0 Borussia Monchengladbach (9/12)
Sevilla 0-1 Real Madrid (5/12)
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Real Madrid (1/12)
Real Madrid 1-2 Alaves (28/11)

Athletic Club

Valencia 2-2 Athletic Club (12/12)
Athletic Club 0-2 Celta Vigo (4/12)
Getafe 1-1 Athletic Club (29/11)
Athletic Club 4-0 Real Betis (23/11)
Real Valladolid 2-1 Athletic Club (8/11)

Prediction

Real will be buoyed by the double whammy of securing qualification in the Champions League as well as a convincing win in the Madrid derby.

They have plenty of quality to call on despite injuries to Hazard and Jovic and should take all three points on Tuesday.

Prediction: Real Madrid 2-0 Athletic Club