Real Madrid will bring the curtain down on a thoroughly miserable season at home to Athletic Bilbao tonight.

The campaign started with optimism under Xabi Alonso but quickly turned sour with the former Madrid midfielder sacked in January. Alvaro Arbeloa came in but has failed to stem the tide with reports of dressing room disharmony indicating all is not well at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Tonight will be Arbeloa’s final game in charge before he departs, with Jose Mourinho most likely to replace him, while it is the same scenario for Athletic boss Ernesto Valverde.

Valverde has had three stints in charge of Athletic but Edin Terzić will be on the bench at San Mames next season.

Valverde said: “It’s my last match, and the team’s last of the season too. We want to finish on a high, even though we know how tough it is to play at the Bernabéu.

“We’re focused on these 90 minutes. After that, there’s the World Cup and holidays, but the important thing for us is to focus on the match and try to put in a good performance. It’s tough, but we have to give it a go.”

Athletic won’t qualify for Europe while Madrid are guaranteed to finish runners-up to Barcelona.

Where to watch Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao: TV channel, live stream

The match will be available to watch live on Premier Sports and via LaLigaTV.

Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00pm BST on Saturday.

The stats for Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao

• Real Madrid have won 125 matches against Athletic Bilbao throughout history
• Los Blancos are unbeaten against Athletic at the Bernabeu in La Liga since January 2021
• Real Madrid won the reverse fixture 3-0 earlier this season
• Athletic have taken just one point from their last three league games
• Only Barcelona have a better home record in La Liga than Real Madrid this season