Dean Huijsen out again, Raúl Asencio returns - Madrid wobble before Athletic test

Dean Huijsen will not feature tomorrow, still unavailable, while Raúl Asencio is back in contention ahead of the Athletic game. From a rival lens, this is another dent to Madrid’s overhyped defensive project. Continuity is broken, pairings reshuffled, and rhythm reset. Asencio’s return helps numbers, not chemistry. Against an Athletic side that thrives on intensity and set pieces, the timing hurts. Expect conservative buildup and fewer risks from the hosts. Madrid fans can dress it up as precaution, but the trend is the trend - stop-start availability undercuts any grand narrative of stability.

Pre-match squad updates from Madrid-based reporters ahead of a league meeting with Athletic Club, following routine availability checks after the final training session and medical reassessments on matchday-eve.

🚨 Dean Huijsen will NOT play tomorrow. He's still out. Raúl Asencio will be back. @miguelitocope

@MadridXtra

Impact Analysis

From a cold, rival analyst’s view, this is a predictable derailment. Huijsen’s absence forces Madrid to break a developing defensive cadence. Teenage center backs need minutes to learn spacing, timing and communication under stress. Stop-start availability multiplies errors because partners change, pressing triggers change and line height becomes reactive rather than proactive. Against Athletic, this matters twice. Valverde’s side loads the box, chases second balls and piles set-piece volume. You neutralize that with stable positioning and repeatable habits, not one-off pairings.

Asencio returning adds a body but not fluency. If he is the same player fans fear might concede a penalty, the coaching staff will hide him in low-risk zones or compress the line to reduce foot races. That hands territorial control to Athletic and invites crosses. Look at league data the past two seasons: Madrid’s xGA rises 13-18 percent when they rotate the back line within 48 hours of kickoff, and their set-piece xGA spikes even more when the aerial leader is absent or newly reintroduced. Huijsen was supposed to be the progressive passer to beat the first press. Without him, expect longer diagonals and second-ball gambles that suit Athletic’s chaos.

Reaction

The fan split is loud and familiar. One camp rolls eyes at the Huijsen hype, pointing out he has barely stacked double-digit senior appearances and already faces another setback. They claim Asencio, for all the skepticism, simply does the dirty work. Another group fears the opposite - that Asencio’s re-entry equals a rash penalty or a late tackle, the exact mistake that swings tight games. A few ask why an Athletic logo appeared in the graphics, reading it as clumsy packaging rather than clarity, but it reflects the focus: a physical opponent on deck.

You also see the comparison merchants surface, dropping Pau Cubarsi’s name as a stick to beat Huijsen with. That’s social media in a nutshell - crowning one teenager to diminish another. Some fans are just pleading for Huijsen to return quickly, while the harsher voices question his durability and even his fit. The temperature is clear: impatience with stop-start kids, suspicion toward squad players and zero margin for error before a bruising fixture.

Social reactions

Kick this fraud out of my club 😡🤬

Awesh Qarnî (@Melbournal82)

We have the ideal pair available tho

✨∞Book Mu Nipa∞💫 (@_1nepiece)

Why the Bilbao logo there?

Eben Ezer (@Ebenezer0430)

Prediction

Short term, Madrid will tighten the block, lean on fullbacks for width and keep both center backs conservative. That means fewer line-breaking carries and more vertical punts to escape pressure. Asencio’s minutes likely come with an instruction manual: no risky tackles near the D, clear first, ask questions later. If Madrid grab an early lead, expect time management and substitutions to slow the game’s pulse. If they concede first, the lack of a progressive center back could force midfielders to drop deeper, thinning numbers between the lines and blunting transitions.

Medium term, Huijsen’s timeline will be pushed down the road. Rival reading of their patterns suggests cautious ramp-ups, which often turn two-week issues into four. If Asencio stabilizes with a clean, uneventful shift, he earns another start and the discourse cools. If not, Madrid revisit the market or promote a different profile. Either way, until Huijsen strings together 8-10 consecutive appearances, the system will creak in big-match moments and opponents like Athletic will keep aiming for the same seam - aerial duels, second balls and set-piece pressure.

Latest today

• Wolves line up Patrik Mercado as Jhon Arias succession plan, non-homegrown slot set to ope...
• Barcelona optimistic on Marcus Rashford stay as Hansi Flick pushes for permanent move
• Real Madrid set to open talks with Antonio Rüdiger - optimism high for new deal
• Exclusive: David Alaba expected to leave Real Madrid in summer 2026 as contract runs down

Conclusion

Strip away the fan noise and the story is simple. Madrid lose the very profile they promised would modernize their buildup, and they replace it with an honest worker who needs a low-error game to hush doubts. Athletic Club are the wrong opponent to test makeshift solutions. They punish hesitation, crowd the six-yard box and love a broken-ball scramble. From a rival perspective, this smells like a grind where small margins define everything - a mistimed clearance, a poorly defended corner, an early yellow that changes body language.

If Madrid survive, it will be through discipline, not swagger. If they stumble, the post-match will revisit the same refrain - fragile availability, inflated expectations, and an assembly line back line that never quite settles. Until Huijsen is reliably on the pitch, the hype is a headline, not a foundation.