La Liga: Real Madrid manager Ancelotti 'confident' ahead of clash with Athletic Bilbao

MADRID: Ahead of Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao, Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti said they were confident of fronting up to their opponents.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ancelotti said that all the players have recovered after their national duties in the recently concluded international friendlies.

"The team's doing well. Those who have returned from their national teams have recovered well. Camavinga trained normally despite having a minor problem. We're feeling confident and tomorrow we have to bear in mind that we're playing against a team that's having a great season, they're playing with a lot of intensity and are fighting for the Champions League (spots). They have a lot of individual quality and they're organised. We're feeling good and we have all the confidence in the world to perform well," Ancelotti was quoted by Real Madrid's official website as saying.

When asked about Militao's recovery from injury, the Italian coach said that the Brazilian defender is back in the squad. The head coach added that the defender has recovered 'very well' from the ACL injury that he sustained before the start of the season.

"Militao is back, which is the most important piece of news. He's available, he's trained well but he's not 100% because he still needs to play more football. He's recovered very well from the injury. He got injured in the game against Athletic in the first half of the season and now he's back against Athletic. Courtois' new injury was unlucky, but he'll be back as well," he added.

The Los Blancos are currently in red-hot form and are standing in the top of the La Liga standings with 72 points by their name. In their previous five matches, the Whites have won three games and shared points in two games. In their previous encounter, Vinicius' brace and lone goals from Carvajal and Brahim Diaz helped Real Madrid seal a 4-2 win over Osasuna in La Liga.