Real Madrid to consolidate lead against Athletic Bilbao

Real Madrid hope to continue their dominance of the Spanish league as they travel to play Athletic Bilbao. Not many expected Real Madrid to have a great season, but they just proved why they have been termed as one of the best clubs of all time.

They have raced to the top of the La Liga table and are possibly on the path to secure another title.

Meanwhile, Bilbao are going through an inconsistent run. Not only are they dropping points in almost every other match-up, but their attackers have also been one of the worst this season in the league.

Bilbao did record a 3-2 win at home in the last match-day against Betis, but it needs to be noted that the victory had come after an eight-game winless run.

Bilbao have not kept a clean sheet at home in the past five appearances and they also have had a poor head to head record against Real Madrid over the years.

On the other hand, the Real Madrid have been at their absolute best in Spain this season. They were held to a 0-0 draw by Cadiz in their last game this week. This will make the league leaders go all out to win today.

Credit: leaguelane.com

Atletico Madrid to avoid 4th straight defeat at Granada

Atletico Madrid will be looking to avoid a fourth straight La Liga defeat when they make the trip to Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Wednesday night to take on Granada.

A disappointing run of form has seen Atletico fall 14 points off the top of the table, while Granada occupy 15th position, having picked up 19 points from their opening 17 matches of the season.

Granada have impressed since returning to La Liga in 2019, finishing seventh and ninth in their last two campaigns at this level, but it would be fair to say that they have largely disappointed this season.

Granada are actually now on a four-game unbeaten run in the league, which has included wins in their last two home league fixtures, and Moreno’s team are certainly capable of inflicting another defeat on a wounded Atletico, who have almost seen their title hopes evaporate in recent weeks.

Simeone’s team are 14 points behind leaders Real Madrid and only two points clear of seventh-placed Barcelona, meaning that another poor result in this round of matches could see them drop further down the division ahead of the winter break in Spain.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk

Inter set to extend their advantage at the top

There will be an interesting pre-Christmas battle in Serie A on Wednesday at the San Siro, as two of the in-form sides in the league meet at the San Siro.

Inter have been in great form, and have seamlessly moved to the top of the standings above the stuttering Napoli and AC Milan.

They now have a four-point advantage, as the mid-way rounds of Serie A this season take place in midweek. Inter have really turned the screw in recent weeks, and come into this fixture having won their last five games in Serie A.

They have been beaten just once in 18 outings this season, and are the highest scorers in the league, and have the second best defensive record. Inter kicked off the latest round of fixtures in Italy with a commanding 5-0 win away from home against Salernitana last weekend. Five different scorers registered goals in that success

Torino will be hoping for a positive result at the San Siro in midweek, as they look for a third straight victory in the league.
However, Inter Milan have been on a roll in Serie A, and they will be looking to extend their advantage at the top of the standings with another victory on Wednesday evening.

Credit: news.22bet.com

Mourinho’s Roma welcome Sampdoria

Following one of their best results of the season last weekend, Roma return to Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday to host Sampdoria in Serie A’s final round of 2021.

Now up to fifth, and just six points adrift of the top four, the Giallorossi’s win over Atalanta will have lifted their spirits before closing the first half of the season on home soil.

Battling against both form and precedent on Saturday afternoon, Roma upset the odds to not only deny Atalanta their seventh straight Serie A win, but also earn a first victory over the Bergamo club since 2017.

Having struggled to regularly find the net since moving to Italy, former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham opened the scoring inside the first minute and also added the fourth in a 4-1 win over one of Europe’s most in-form sides.

As Jose Mourinho prefers to keep rotation to a minimum, given the perceived weaknesses in his squad, the home side are likely to be unchanged from the XI that started against Atalanta, so Matias Vina and Rick Karsdorp start as wing-backs in a 3-5-2 formation.

Credit: sportsmole.co.uk