In the 31st round of the Spanish "La Liga" championship, a real football dessert awaits as two capital clubs, "Real" and "Atletico," will clash.
"Real Madrid" - "Atletico" Tournament: "La Liga" (31st round) Stadium: "Santiago Bernabeu" (Madrid) Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Date and Time: 2017-04-08, 5:15 pm
Recently, "Atletico" has gained excellent form in sports but most likely does not have a chance to fight for the Spanish championship title this season. However, this match is crucial for "Real" because a victory would keep them at the top position.
Sporting forms Both "Atletico" and "Real" have been showing similar results in the Spanish championship recently, but Diego Simeone's team plays a more solid game. However, the sporting forms of both teams are excellent - both have achieved all possible victories in their last five matches.
In the last matches, Zinedine Zidane's coached team had to compete without stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, but that didn't stop them from achieving a victory against "Leganes." The "Whites" scored three goals in the first 25 minutes and seemed to overpower the opponent, but they conceded two quick goals, adding some intrigue. Nevertheless, they celebrated a 4-2 victory.
In the last five matches, "Real" celebrated victories against "Eibar," "Real Betis," Bilbao "Athletic," "Deportivo Alaves," and the mentioned "Leganes." In total, the "Whites" scored 15 goals, but they cannot boast a successful defensive game, having conceded five goals.
In turn, the "Atletico" club in Spain defeated these opponents: "Valencia," "Granad," "Sevilla," "Malaga," and San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad." In the last matches, the "Rojiblancos" narrowly beat San Sebastian's team.
In five matches, "Atletico" scored 10 goals and, most importantly, conceded only one goal against "Sevilla." Diego Simeone's team has returned to demonstrating an excellent game in defense, so breaking the opponent's defense will not be easy for "Real."
"Real" lead the country's championships with 71 points and have a two-point advantage over "Barcelona." Additionally, the "Merengues" have played one game less, so any lost points in the Madrid derby can still be recovered. "Atletico" lags behind the leaders by 10 points.
Team news There are no recent losses in the Madrid "Real" camp. As was clear earlier, only Raphael Varane, who has a knee injury, will not be able to play in the city derby. Dani Carvajal and Cristiano Ronaldo should be cautious as receiving another yellow card would mean missing the next game.
Meanwhile, the "Atletico" team has more losses – Kevin Gameiro and Nicolas Gaitan, important players for the team, will miss the match due to injuries. Also, "Rojiblancos" will not see other important players - Tiago, Miguel Moya, Sime Vrsaljko, and Augusto Fernandez.
Predicted starting lineups: "Real Madrid": Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo. "Atletico": Jan Oblak, Juanfran, Stefan Savic, Diego Godin, Filipe Luis; Saul Niguez, Gabi, Koke, Yannick Carrasco; Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres.
Interesting facts The first match of the season between "Real" and "Atletico" at the "Vicente Calderon" fortress ended in a painful defeat for the hosts - the "Whites" celebrated a 3-0 victory after Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick.
Previously, the last Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick against "Atletico" in the derby was in April 2012. The Portuguese national team captain also scored three goals in that match.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in the history of Madrid derbies with 18 goals against "Atletico."
After a slow start to the season, Antoine Griezmann has recently been in excellent form - scoring five goals in the last six matches.
In the last three matches at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, "Atletico" was the first to score. Also, the last confrontation at the legendary stadium ended in a 1-0 victory for the visitors.
"Rojiblancos" are the best defending team in the Spanish championship - so far, Diego Simeone's team has conceded 23 goals and scored 55 precise shots on the opponent's goal.
The "Real" club has scored at least one goal in 51 consecutive matches - a record in the history of the strongest leagues.
First derby of the season:
