Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Joel Amorim Feb 25, 2016 @ 12:56 am

Next Saturday, 27th of February 2016, Zinedine Zidane’s refurbished Real Madrid will measure forces with their city rivals, Atlético Madrid, at the emblematic Santiago Bernabéu for Round 26 of the Spanish Liga BBVA.

The Derbi madrileño will certainly be an extremely frantic one next weekend. With both teams separated by just one point at La Liga’s table and considerably behind the league leaders, Barcelona, there is no more room for mistakes and a defeat will surely be the last breath on the title challenge for both sides.

Real Madrid failed to get anything better than a 1-1 draw during their visit to La Rosaleda last time out and the team’s poor performances away from home at La Liga are certainly worrying Zinedine Zidane. Cristiano Ronaldo benefited from an offside position to open the score at Andalusia last weekend, but his goal proved to be insufficient for Los Blancos to claw the three points. The versatile Portuguese winger could have scored his second in the match, but he failed to overcome Málaga’s Cameroonian goalkeeper Carlos Kameni from the penalty spot just three minutes after he netted the opening goal.

After their solid midweek performance at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Real Madrid once again exposed their overall frailties against Málaga last Sunday. The team’s poor marking skills back in defence and the lack of reliable solutions up front have contributed once more to Real Madrid’s overall pale display.

For next weekend’s derby, Zinedine Zidane will still not be able to rely on the services of Gareth Bale, who remain sidelined due to a severe calf injury. Karim Benzema, who missed last round’s match at La Rosaleda because of a hip injury, is still in doubt out there.

As for Atlético Madrid, the Colchoneros conceded their fourth La Liga draw last weekend after failing to overcome a highly motivated Villarreal at Vicente Calderón. It was a very close match between two top quality teams, but the final result was considerably more positive for the visitors than for Atlético, who saw Barcelona escape at the top of table.

In the middle of the week, the Colchoneros have once again failed to get anything better than a goalless draw from their visit to the Philips Stadion for the first-leg of the UEFA Champions League 1/8 finals against PSV Eindhoven.

For next weekend’s demanding derby against Real Madrid, Diego “El Cholo” Simeone will still not be able to rely on the services of Tiago and Yannick Carrasco, who remain sidelined due to long term injuries.

Real Madrid

Stats: W-4 L-0 D-1

Recent Form - DWWWW

Atlético Madrid

Stats: W-2 L-2 D-1

Recent Form - DWWLL

Possible Line-ups

Real Madrid (4-3-3) – Navas - Carvajal - Ramos - Varane - Marcelo - Kroos - Modric - Kovacic - Ronaldo - James - Isco

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2) - Oblak - Juanfran - Filipe Luis - Giménez - Godin - Koke - Gabi - Niguez - Oliver - Griezmann - Torres

Injury List / Suspended Players

Real Madrid - Bale (inj) - Benzema (in doubt) - Pepe (in doubt)

Atlético Madrid - Tiago (inj) - Carrasco (inj) - Thomas Partey (in doubt)

Head-to-head matches:

League Positions