The highlight of the Spanish Premier League weekend is undoubtedly the Madrid derby, which will take place on Sunday evening at the Metropolitano stadium. This is the first major derby of the season, with both teams needing to win to keep pace with early leaders Barcelona, who have started the season in blistering form with seven wins from seven.
Atlético Madrid – What to expect
Hosts Atlético played in midweek and managed to win 1-0 against Celta Vigo, a result that brought them to within two points of their opponents this weekend. This will be the 237th edition of the Madrid derby, known as the “Madrileno”, and it is Real who have the best record with 116 victories compared to 59 for Atlético, of which 61 ended in a match null. Last season, bragging rights in this encounter went to Atlético, who won the match 3-1. They will be hoping to repeat that and they have certainly started the season well at home, they are yet to concede a single goal in a home league match this season, picking up two wins from the three matches played so far. They have lost once in their last nine competitive matches, with seven wins during that stretch. Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem either as they have scored at least twice in three of their last four matches. Atlético have only conceded three goals so far, making it the best defensive record so far this season.
Real Madrid – What to expect
Real Madrid’s midweek match turned into a somewhat uncomfortable evening as they surrendered their three-goal lead to ultimately hold on for a 3-2 win over Alavés. They remain undefeated this season with five wins in seven matches and enter this match with a two-point lead over their opponents. However, what will worry manager Carlo Ancellotti is that they have a relatively poor recent record against their Madrid rivals. They have only won one of the last five meetings, something he will want to improve on in this match. They had some injury problems at the start of the season and will now have to be without their latest star signed from PSG for a few weeks due to a thigh injury. Real Madrid will also have to do without Alaba, Carvajal and Diaz. They have a poor record at the Metropolitano, having won just one of their last six visits.
Julian Alvarez has a happy habit of scoring late goals and he scored against Real Madrid the last time he played against them, for his previous team, Manchester City, and it was he who scored the winning goal late in his last match against Celta Vigo. Another new signing, Conor Gallagher, is also up for his new club with two goals in his last three matches. For Real, the absence of their new French superstar means more responsibility on the shoulders of Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo, especially since Jude Bellingham has not yet taken off this season.
Final Thoughts
There isn’t much to choose between these two teams in terms of odds, with Real being very slight favorites at 2.50, with the home side currently sitting at 2.85.
The odds may have changed since this article was written and published.
Last updated: 09/27/24
