Many Athletic Bilbao fans would probably have laughed if you suggested a few years ago that Aritz Aduriz would be mentioned in the same breath as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.

But he is. The 35-year-old striker has gatecrashed the Spanish top-flight's goalscoring charts, netting 13 times for Athletic this season. That's the same number as Gareth Bale - and one more than Messi (yes, we know they've missed loads of games through injury).

No wonder he looks surprised...

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Sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao are only three places behind Real Madrid in La Liga, but trail their illustrious opponents by a whopping 15 points.

And Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is well aware of the threat posed by the Basque side - and particularly their evergreen striker Aritz Aduriz.

"They are a strong rival, they are very good team," he says.

"You have talked about one of their most important players - Aritz Aduriz - above all in set pieces and cross balls.

"Aduriz is 35-years old, but he doesn't look like that."

Zinedine Zidane was sat in the home dugout when Athletic last escaped the Bernabeu with all three points.

Of course, back in February 2005, Zizou was the King of the Galacticos, gliding past opposition players with ease, making the beautiful game look, well, more beautiful. 

But he started on the bench for Athletic's visit that season as the likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen and Thomas Gravesen slumped to a 2-0 defeat.

And the possibility of ending that barren run can be a source of inspiration for the visitors, says Athletic boss Ernesto Valverde.

"Breaking a statistic like that is always a motivation. Our objective is to turn it around. The statistic is a historical point; it doesn't have anything to do with what will happen," he said.

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Of course you will instantly notice there is no Gareth Bale in that Real Madrid team. 

The Welshman has missed the past three matches with a calf injury and Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane says he won't rush the forward back.

"He is feeling better every day but I am not going to say that he will be back training with us next week," said the Frenchman at a press conference on Friday.

"He needs time and we need to be patient because we need Gareth to be 100% fit. 

"Gareth is such an important player for us that we are not going to take any risks."

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Madrid XI: Navas, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Danilo, Modric, Kroos, Rodriguez, Kovacic, Ronaldo, Benzema.

Athletic XI: Iraizoz, De Marcos, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe, Eraso, Benat, Lekue, Aduriz, Sabin Merino.

Of course, thumping the cannon fodder that is Deportivo, Sporting Gijon and Espanyol is no measure of how successful Zizou will be as a coach.

The next few weeks, where Madrid go into Champions League battle with Roma and host noisy neighbours Atletico, will provide more of an idea what shape Zidane's Madrid are in.

And today is the Frenchman's first real test. Sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao are in town.

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WWDWW. Five matches, four wins, 19 goals scored, three conceded.

Not a bad start to managerial life for Zinedine Zidane. No wonder the Real Madrid manager is grinning like a Cheshire cat...

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