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Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao: 3 Things to Watch For

By Ben Sundock

MADRID - OCTOBER 23: Gareth Bale (l) of Real Madrid fights for the ball with Inigo Lekue of Athletic Club during their La Liga match between Real Madrid and Athletic Club at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on 23 October 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
MADRID - OCTOBER 23: Gareth Bale (l) of Real Madrid fights for the ball with Inigo Lekue of Athletic Club during their La Liga match between Real Madrid and Athletic Club at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on 23 October 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Power Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 12: Keylor Navas of Real Madrid during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF v Real Betis Balompie at Santiago Bernabeu on March 12, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Sonia Canada/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 12: Keylor Navas of Real Madrid during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF v Real Betis Balompie at Santiago Bernabeu on March 12, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Sonia Canada/Getty Images) /

Keylor’s Nerves

Keylor Navas has been less than impressive his last few outings. The Costa Rican goalkeeper hasn’t been near the same level he was last season, leading many to believe that Los Blancos should look for a new permanent keeper.

Navas allowed his first own goal of his career last weekend in the 2-1 win over Real Betis, marking yet another game where Navas has inexplicably allowed a goal. While the Madrid back four has been less than impressive at times, Navas has had several instances of goals that he should have saved.

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Navas will have a full stadium roaring against him again, and he can’t give up easy goals, not in a crucial match like this one (it nearly cost them against Napoli in both legs).

Zidane will want his team to start the game off fast and put lots of pressure on Bilbao early on in the game, making sure Navas receives almost no attention.

Keylor is capable of playing well, there’s no doubting that, we all saw it last season. But this season, the 30 year-old has been more of a detriment to the team rather than a playmaker.

Hopefully, we will see the Navas of old today, making great saves and making ridiculous stops on penalties.

Real Madrid will kickoff against Athletic Bilbao at 3:15 p.m. GMT, 11:15 a.m. ET on beIN Sports (U.S.).

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