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Bellingham is ready to return for Real Madrid following his red card ban to against Athletic Bilbao
Jude Bellingham is poised to return for Real Madrid against Athletic Bilbao this weekend after missing the previous two games due to a red card ban.
This, compounded with an ankle sprain, has kept Bellingham out of four of Madrid’s last six matches.
Even though he last scored for Madrid six weeks ago, Bellingham still leads the Spanish league with 16 goals after emerging as a serious scoring threat following his move from Borussia Dortmund.
But the competition is dwindling. Osasuna’s Ante Budimir and Getafe’s (currently hurt) Borja Mayoral both have fifteen. Atletico Madrid’s Álvaro Morata and Girona’s Artem Dovbyk both have 14 goals.
Bellingham has missed Madrid’s last two league games after receiving a red card for complaining after his goal was called off for coming after the final whistle in a draw with Valencia.
Bellingham scored his 22nd goal of the season for club and country on Tuesday to help England tie 2-2 with Belgium in a friendly.
Jude Bellingham ready to make his return for Los Blancos
Madrid’s best player will return, but Vinícius Júnior will be suspended for one game due to five yellow cards.
The league returns after an international break, with Madrid eight points ahead of Barcelona, and both teams focused on their high-profile Champions League quarterfinals against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in two weeks.
Carlo Ancelotti’s club has only lost once in 29 league games and is unbeaten in 12 consecutive games in all competitions.
With Madrid looking untouchable on its way to the Liga title, the true fight is to determine which teams will qualify for the Champions League.
Athletic, which only fields players from or from Spain’s northern Basque Country, is clinging on to the fourth and last slot in Europe’s elite league for next season.
Athletic, led by brothers Iñaki and Nico Williams, will face their biggest battle in the league on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Bilbao has not won a league game in Madrid since 2005, despite drawing 1-1 there last season.
Athletic visits Spain’s capital a week before its most significant game of the season, the Copa del Rey final versus Mallorca on April 6. Athletic has the second most cups in history, with 23, after only Barcelona’s 31. However, its last cup came in 1984.
Atletico is in fifth position, one point behind Athletic, and will face Villarreal on Monday, which has won four consecutive league games.
Barcelona will face Las Palmas, led by former Barcelona reserve team coach Javier García Pimienta, on Saturday.
Girona, which had been vying for the lead with Madrid, has recently struggled, losing four of six rounds. On Sunday, the Catalans will host Real Betis, who are two points behind Barcelona.
