The first Madrid Derby of the season is set to go down in the Spanish capital on Sunday night, as Atletico Madrid host Real Madrid in La Liga.
Real Madrid find themselves atop the La Liga table – two points clear of second-place Barcelona – having taken maximum points from their opening five games.
👊 Happy Friday, #RMFans! 👊 pic.twitter.com/XZ5cW9aHS1— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 16, 2022
👊 Happy Friday, #RMFans! 👊 pic.twitter.com/XZ5cW9aHS1
Meanwhile, Atletico sit seventh – five points behind Real Madrid – after making something of an indifferent start to the season. Can they kick-start their campaign on Sunday?
Diego Simeone’s side head into the Madrid Derby on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
However, that was only their second loss in seven games across all competitions this term – having played five league games and two Champions League clashes.
Atletico have lost just one of their five La Liga outings this season, picking up three wins and one draw. They have also conceded four goals along the way.
It is also worth noting that Atletico have only lost three of their past 21 home games in La Liga, meaning they will fancy their chances of upsetting Real Madrid.
As for Los Blancos, they come into Sunday’s clash on the back of a 2-0 Champions League victory over Celtic on Wednesday.
Real Madrid have won all seven of their matches this term, securing five straight La Liga victories and back-to-back Champions League triumphs.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have scored 15 La Liga goals this season. As a result, they average three goals per game in the league.
In addition to avoiding defeat in each of their last 12 games across all competitions, Los Blancos have avoided defeat in 47 of their previous 54.
Head-to-head: Atletico have only managed to win one of their last 12 La Liga meetings with Real Madrid, although six of those clashes ended in a draw.
Real Madrid have won four of their previous seven league encounters with Atletico, scoring over 1.5 goals on three occasions.
Team news: Atletico will be without the injured centre-back pair of Stefan Savic and Jose Maria Gimenez on Sunday. Sergio Reguilon is also a doubt.
On the flip side, Real Madrid will be without star striker Karim Benzema due to a muscle injury. Eder Militao is also sidelined with a hamstring problem.
Although Real Madrid look set to be without Benzema this weekend, they should have more than enough firepower to claim all three points.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Real will claim the Madrid bragging rights on Sunday – scoring over 2.5 goals on their way to victory.