La Liga 2018/19
- Venue: Bernabeu
- Date: Saturday, 29 September
- Kick-off time: 7:45pm BST
Madrid rivals Real and Atletico face off on Saturday in what is set to be another fiery city derby in the Spanish capital.
Real will be out for blood after being stung by a 3-0 loss at Sevilla in midweek and want revenge after being embarrassed by Atletico 4-2 in the UEFA Super Cup.
Atletico's relatively slow start left them in danger of being out of the title race before it had even truly begun, but Real's defeat before the derby offers Simeone's men the chance to leapfrog their city rivals in the table.
HEAD TO HEAD
The two sides have met 220 times, with Real winning 109 games, Atletico 56, and the rivals sharing 55 draws.
Neither side won a Liga meeting last term, with the points being shared in both games.
TEAM NEWS
Marcelo injured his calf against Sevilla, and will miss the derby after medical tests on Friday confirmed. Isco remains out of action after undergoing surgery for acute appendicitis on Tuesday.
Jose Gimenez is likely to feature for Atleti despite an ankle knock. Lucas Hernandez should come in on the left ahead of Filipe Luis, while Angel Correa may feature instead of Thomas Lemar.
POSSIBLE LINE-UP
Real Madrid: Courtois; Odriozola, Ramos, Varane, Nacho; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Benzema, Bale
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Hernandez; Lemar, Saul, Thomas, Koke; Griezmann, Costa
JULEN LOPETEGUI: "This Real Madrid team wants to win LaLiga"
Julen Lopetegui and his side are aspired to win the league title.
When one wears this shirt, every game is special for the players and that applies to the coach too. Tomorrow is no exception and that's how we're preparing the match.
I'm happy with the performance of the side. We've only just begun but I'm delighted with the motivation and predisposition the players have shown.
We're currently in no mood for smiling but we're also well aware that the league campaign is a long one. We're focused on our goal and that is to be league champions and to achieve this we need the support and energy from the fans.
DIEGO SIMEONE: "The Madrid derby is a game for men - it'll be tough"
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has said Real Madrid are handling life after Cristiano Ronaldo extremely well, adding that he would not read too much into their 3-0 midweek defeat at Sevilla.
I don't usually judge rivals based on their last game. I look at their potential and Real Madrid is one of the best teams in the world.
I don't spend time studying what happened in the past, football lives for today and we are facing a brand new game. I'm focused on how to make the game as comfortable as possible for us.
I look beyond Madrid's last game - against Sevilla who are always a difficult team to face and it's not easy to compete against them. Madrid are still a very direct side with Asensio and Bale, who can interchange passes up front, with the vision of Kroos, Modric and Ramos, and they combine well with Ceballos and Isco...
Betting & Match Odds
Real Madrid are
priced at odds of winning 2.12 according to VBet, while a draw is available at 3.33. A win for Atletico are
priced at 3.65.
Click here to see all of VBet’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
