Who will win the Madrid City Championship?
In the 230th edition of the “Derbi madrileño”, Atletico and Real Madrid face each other this Sunday evening.
The visitors have a clear lead in the duel with 113 wins, as the home side only have around half as many victories (57) in the overall retrospective up to the first meeting in 1906.
Both teams have already faced German teams in the Champions League this week. Here, the Rojiblancos recorded a 0:2 in the guest game in Leverkusen and the defending champions of the competition a 2:0 at home in the Bernabeu against RB Leipzig.
For the clash in the Spanish capital between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, the prediction includes a goal by Vinicius Junior on the side of the visitors.
For those who want to watch the La Liga tidbit live, DAZN is the place to be.
Atletico Madrid – Statistics & current form
The “Colchoneros” have had a mixed start to the new season. The team of coach Diego Simeone, who has been in charge for eleven years, currently occupies seventh place.
The gap to the visitors, who sit at the top of the table, is already five points after just as many rounds of matches. Most recently, however, they scored a commanding victory against Celta Vigo in league play.
The ten-time Copa del Rey winners beat coach Eduardo Coudet’s side 4-1 in a clear victory.
Defensive with room for improvement
However, once again it was not enough for a clean sheet in this encounter. The “Indios” have been waiting for their next match without conceding a goal for four competitive games in the Champions League and La Liga.
One reason for the defensive problems is the absence of Stefan Savic in defence due to injury and for the last two matches his experienced defensive colleague Jose Gimenez is also missing as well as Jan Oblak in goal.
In addition, the defence has been reshuffled with players like six-man Axel Witsel and Nahuel Molina. Obviously, it still needs some time to find itself into a better unit.
Returner Morata is in fine form
In the offensive, the 1974 World Cup winners will rely mainly on Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard returned this season after being on loan at Juve for the past two seasons and has immediately proved to be a potent weapon in attack.
As a result, the striker boasts three goals after five rounds of matches. The gap left by the departure of Luis Suarez is thus best filled by the eleven-time Spanish champions.
With this in mind, the odds on his next goal in the derby between Atletico and Real Madrid are also worth considering.
Predicted line-up of Atletico Madrid:
Grbic – Witsel – Gimenez – Nahuel – Koke – Molina – Lllorente – Lemar – Ferreira Carrasco – Joao Felix – Morata
Last matches played by Atletico Madrid:
Champions League Grp. B
14/09/2022 – Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 0 Atletico Madrid
La Liga
11/09/2022 – Atletico Madrid 4 – 1 Celta Vigo
Champions League Grp. B
08/09/2022 – Atletico Madrid 2 – 1 FC Porto
La Liga
03/09/2022 – Real Sociedad 1 – 1 Atletico Madrid
30/08/2022 – Valencia 0 – 1 Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid – Statistics & current form
The champions have not shown any weakness in league play so far. Coach Carlo Ancelotti’s side are the only team in the Spanish top flight to have won everything in the first five rounds of matches!
The Blancos’ attack is particularly convincing: with an average of three goals per league game, it is the best team in La Liga together with Barcelona, who are second in the table.
Thick question mark behind Benzema
However, the visitors are now worried about last year’s top scorer of the division in the person of Karim Benzema. The Frenchman was injured in the opening game of the top flight against Celtic Glasgow.
On the positive side for the “Vikingos”, however, the meniscus injury that was initially feared has probably not materialised. For this reason, it is not yet clear whether the striker will play in the derby for the 35-time champions of the country or not.
With three goals in four league games, Benzema has already been in the best scoring mood. He has also scored in three of his past four derbies, so the upcoming opponent would suit him as well.
Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior also know where the box stands
The reigning champions, on the other hand, easily absorbed Benzema’s absence in their last league match. The Spanish record champions beat Mallorca 4:1 and other players such as Rodrygo, with a goal and an assist, or Vinicius, also a goal, successfully stepped into the breach.
However, as with the upcoming opponents, the defensive performance could be improved. In all five games played, a goal was conceded. At the same time, the offensive is working very well, as described above, and none of the league games ended with less than 2.5 goals.
High-scoring “Derbi madrileño”?
The average number of goals scored by the players from the Santiago Bernabeu was as high as four – the highest figure in the league. In light of this, betting on at least three goals in the clash between Atletico and Real Madrid seems to be even more profitable.
Predicted Real Madrid line-up:
Courtois – Alaba – Mendy – Rüdiger – Vazquez – Valverde – Kroos – Ceballos – Hazard – Rodrygo – Vinicius Junior
Last matches played by Real Madrid:
Champions League Grp. F
15/09/2022 – Real Madrid 2 – 0 RB Leipzig
La Liga
11/09/2022 – Real Madrid 4 – 1 Mallorca
Champions League Grp. F
07/09/2022 – Celtic Glasgow 0 – 3 Real Madrid
La Liga
03/09/2022 – Real Madrid 2 – 1 Real Betis
29/08/2022 – Espanyol 1 – 3 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
The last direct encounter took place last May. Atletico won 1:0 on their own ground. Thanks to the success, the “Colchoneros” took revenge for a previous 0:2 away defeat at Real.
In addition, Atletico ended a black streak of eleven previous league meetings without a win (0-6-5) with the three points.
Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid Tip
For the clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, the tip aims for a goal by Vinicius Junior for the “Merengues”. The Brazilian has scored in five of the last six competitive matches.
In addition, his fellow striker Karim Benzema is questionable as the Frenchman is suffering from a knee injury. The 22-year-old’s susceptible defence also argues in favour of another goal for the home side.
Atletico have been waiting for their next clean sheet for four games in La Liga and the top flight. It is obvious that the absence of key defenders like Savic is weakening the backline.
Furthermore, they are playing in a different formation this season, which is why there are still coordination problems.
