3 Real Madrid players with a point to prove vs. Athletic Club

Real Madrid have another tough matchup in La Liga this week against Athletic Club. Having just gotten past the Sevilla challenge thanks to heroics from forward Vinicius Junior and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Los Blancos must face another one of the toughest defenses in the league. Playing at the Santiago Bernabeu instead of the vaunted San Mames is a real advantage for the White club, but, make no mistake. The Lions are always out for blood.

There are three players on Real Madrid who will be keen to prove a point on Wednesday night in front of the home crowd against an Athletic Bilbao side that is in eighth and hungry to get into the Europa League next season.

RB Dani Carvajal

After three great performances, world-class right back Dani Carvajal had an atrocious performance on Sunday night against Sevilla. He made some horrible back-passes and genuinely did not look like himself against one of the top teams in the league.

Real Madrid will want more from the star fullback, and they need more from him. Los Blancos cannot afford silly mistakes from their veteran players. And as important as Carvajal is to the defense’s solidity, he is also important to the attack due to his crossing ability and skill on the overlap.

Carvajal is under a microscope with a possible right back coming in next summer. He needs to immediately bounce back against one of the better teams in La Liga. Madridistas have not forgotten the mistakes he is prone to making and the inconsistency. They want to see him meet the level of the other members of the old guard like Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema, as opposed to costing the team with a head-scratching error or two.