Bet365 is the best bookmaker to bet on this game!

Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid (La Liga)

The Wanda Metropolitano Stadium hosts its first major Madrid derby, with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid measuring their strength on Saturday in a match to count for the 12th round of La Liga. With only two victories in the last nine consecutive games, in all competitions, Diego Simeone needs to get here with his offensive problems solved, or he may get in trouble.  Similarly is Zinedine Zidane, with Real Madrid not giving any signs of who is prepared to defend both the title of champion of Spain and European champion.

O Atlético Madrid are in 4th place in the league table with 23 points, result of 6 victories and 5 draws, with 16 goals scored and 6 goals conceded. The Colchoneros are not even close to what they have shown in recent seasons, they are having a rather disappointing season with a very unappealing football, where despite being well organized at the back, they show a huge lack of creativity and finishing power up front. With Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey matches, Atletico Madrid have won only 2 of their last 9 matches, drawing 6 and losing the remaining, a very poor record for such a team.

What makes this campaign even more disappointing is the way Atletico Madrid are not taking advantage of the home factor, something that did not happen in Vicente Calderón, coming here winless in their last four matches at the Wanda Metropolitano after dropping points against Chelsea, Barcelona, Villarreal and Qarabag across both La Liga and the Champions League. During the international break, Diego Simeone must have time to work on the team’s defensive organization and, mainly, improving creativity in the last third of the pitch as well as the efficiency in finishing scoring chances. This Madrid derby will be a test to what have been worked over the last two weeks and will tell if there is still any chance of fighting for the tittle.

In their last 5 official matches, Atletico Madrid has a record of 2 victories and 3 draws. This sequence of results started with a 0-1 victory over Celta Vigo. This result was followed by a 1-1 away draw against Elche, for the Copa del Rey, a 1-1 home draw against Villarreal, a 1-1 home draw against Qarabag, for the Champions League, and in their last round, a 0-1 win against Deportivo.

Probable Lineup: Oblak – Juanfran, Savic, Godín and Luis – Gabi, Partey, Koke and Ñíguez – Griezmann and Correa.

Real Madrid, on their turn, are 3rd place also with 23 points, result of 7 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats, with 22 goals scored and 9 goals conceded. The Merengues are also not even close to what they showed last season, neither in the league nor in the Champions League, and before the international break the team proved no to be prepared to defend the title of La Liga and Champions League title. Los Blancos have also shown big defensive difficulties and a lot of ineffectiveness in finishing scoring opportunities. Away from home, the Merengues won 4 of their 5 trips in La Liga, losing the last trip against Girona, with a total of 11 goals scored and 5 goals conceded.

This team led by Zidane entered in the international break with a 3-0 win over Las Palmas, a victory that put and end to two consecutive defats, against Girona and Tottenham, and hopefully the French coach have managed to improve the negative aspects of the team, so that they can be, once again, contenders for the title. However, already with 8 points away from Barcelona, victory in this derby is mandatory and Zidane is still very much under pressure. Anything other than three points at the Wanda will see big questions asked of him again.

In their last 5 official matches, Real Madrid has a record of 3 victories and 2 defeats. This sequence of results started wth a 3-0 win against Eibar. This result was followed by a 0-2 win against Fuenlabrada, for the Copa del Rey, a 2-1 defeat against Girona, a 3-1 defeat against Tottenham, for the Champions League, and in their last match, a 3-0 victory over Las Palmas. Bale is still out due to injury, while Dani Carvajal as recovered from health problems, but it remains to be seen whether he is ready to return this weekend.

Probable Lineup: Casilla – Carvajal, Ramos, Varane and Marcelo – Casemiro, Modric and Kroos – Isco – Benzema and Ronaldo.

Atletico Madrid have won only 2 of their last 8 direct clashes, drawing 3 and losing the remaining 3.

Both teams have been far below expectations throughout the season. However, now that they are back from the international break, they will not want to disappoint again and intend to return to the competition in the best way possible, which is to win this hard fought derby. As expected, this match will have a lot of rivalry and intensity, with both teams wanting to get back to their best form as fast as possible. Expect a more offensive match with a lot of opportunities at both ends of the pitch.