All eyes will be on the Spanish capital of Madrid this Saturday as Real and Atletico prepare to meet for the sixth Madrid derby this season. Atletico got the better of their city rivals in January by knocking them out of the Copa del Rey, and they also prevailed at the Bernabeu earlier this season.
Real will be shorthanded on defense for this game, but with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo set to return, will the Merengues have enough going forward to score a big win at the Calderon? Read our complete preview of the Madrid derby below.
Line: Real Madrid +108 at Atletico Madrid +202, tie +235; total 2.5 – view all soccer lines
What’s at Stake
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Real have fallen short on a couple of occasions already to Atletico this season, and will be eager to pay their bitter rivals back. Real also have the small matter of a four-point lead atop the table to protect. For defending champions Atletico, a win will be huge as they attempt to claw back from a significant seven-point gap over Real.
Betting on Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid bounced back nicely from their Spanish Cup exit at the hands of Barcelona last week with a 3-1 away win at Eibar. The win was Atletico’s third in a row in the league and fourth in five games in 2015.
Leading scorers Antoine Griezmann (11 goals) and Mario Mandzukic (10 goals) have been in spectacular goal scoring form this year. They fired in all three goals against Eibar, and have accounted for nine of their last 12 goals overall.
Fernando Torres started in place of Mandzukic for both ties against Real Madrid in Atletico’s Spanish Cup quarterfinal triumph. After Atletico beat Real 2-0 in the first leg at home, Torres scored both goals for Atleti in the decisive 2-2 draw in the second leg.
Alteti’s in-form strikers should be favored to keep up their impressive scoring run as they match-up against a Real defense which will be missing three-quarters of its first-choice defensive lineup.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone has had the upper hand over Real’s Carlo Ancelotti since the Italian took charge in 2013. The two have met 10 times in all competitions, with Atletico winning four, drawing four (they lost in extra time in the Champions League final) and losing just two.
Betting on Real Madrid
Real Madrid’s midweek 2-1 win over Sevilla came at a significant cost, as the league leaders will be without defender Sergio Ramos (hamstring) and midfielder James Rodriguez (broken foot) because of injury in the Madrid derby. They will be joined on the sideline by starting left back Marcelo (suspension) and their other top central defender, Pepe (rib).
However, those absentees will be somewhat offset by the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed Real’s last two games due to suspension. The reigning Balon d’Or winner is the league’s leading scorer with 28 goals and has scored six times in his last nine games against Atletico.
With Ramos and Pepe both out, Real will likely start the young duo of Raphael Varane and Nacho in the center of their defense. While Varane is still just 21 years old, he’s widely regarded as one of the most talented young stars in the world and should handle himself just fine.
The bigger question mark surrounds Nacho, who has made just seven starts in all competitions this season, with the derby far and away the biggest and most pressure-packed of all. He’ll need to show a lot of composure, especially against an Atletico team that likes to press opposing defenders into mistakes.
But with the BBC (Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo) once again intact, Real will be a fearsome proposition going forward. Real have scored 37 goals away from home this season, which is 15 more than second-place Barcelona.
Writer’s Prediction
Real and Atletico battle to another hard-fought 1-1 draw. Create a betting account now and find your allegiance in these fiery soccer civil wars.
