Valverde To Start, Camavinga On The Bench | 4-2-3-1 Real Madrid Predicted Lineup Vs Athletic Bilbao | OneFootball

Real Madrid will entertain Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday night as they look to secure a good result at home in La Liga. Los Blancos managed to earn a narrow 1-0 win away at Sevilla recently, which should keep them in good spirits going into this game.

Alvaro Arbeloa will set his players up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make one change to his first team for this clash. Federico Valverde could play from the start of this game, while Thiago Pitarch Pinar makes way for him and drops to the bench.

4-2-3-1 Real Madrid Predicted Lineup To Face Athletic Bilbao

Defence

Thibaut Courtois will feature in between the sticks for the Madrid club after he kept a clean sheet in his last outing. Dean Huijsen will operate alongside Antonio Rudiger at the heart of the Real Madrid backline as they focus on keeping a good shape on the defensive end of the field.

Dani Carvajal will try to impress as the right-back, while Fran Garcia looks to catch the eye on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will look to go forward and express themselves inside the Bilbao half.

David Alaba will provide cover for the defensive positions on the bench.

SEVILLE, SPAIN – MAY 17: Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid reacts during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Sevilla FC and Real Madrid CF at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on May 17, 2026 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Midfield

Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde will operate as the holding midfielders as they look to win the 50-50 battles at the centre of the park.

The technically gifted trio of Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz will play just ahead of them as part of Arbeloa’s attack. All three of them need to link up play well in and around the opponent’s penalty area if the Madrid giants are to secure a positive result this Saturday night.

Eduardo Camavinga and Franco Mastantuono will have to be content with a spot on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the second 45 minutes if required.

Attack

Kylian Mbappe will spearhead Arbeloa’s attack up top. He has to figure out a way to be a real threat in front of the Bilbao goal.

Gonzalo Garcia will be named on the bench as he waits for his chance to make an impact in the final quarter of the game if needed.