The new round of the Madrid derby is set for the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday evening as Atletico Madrid host Real Madrid in La Liga.
Atletico are third in the La Liga table, after having collected 15 points from their first 7 games, and Real Madrid, who are the defending champions, are second with 17 points, just four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Atletico won the league last season in 20-21 and although many have not expected the side to displace Real Madrid or Barcelona at the summit in La Liga this term, a win in the Madrid derby would have made a strong statement this weekend.
At the start of the 2024-25 season, they may have not looked as fluid as usual under Diego Simeone though the team has played seven games without a loss, four wins and three draws seeing them occupy third on the Hispaniola table just two points behind Real Madrid.
Red and Whites is yet to concede a goal in La Liga this season, having let in three goals only, and out of their last six La Liga matches, the team has recorded five shutouts.
Atletico Madrid lost only one game in the previous seven La Liga matches, the match against Rayo Vallecano ended 1-1, but on Thursday evening Atletico Madrid beat Celta Vigo 1-0 thanks to Julian Alvarez’s 90-minute goal and it is four wins out of five in all competitions for Atletico Madrid.
The hosts will know only too well just how much a different task awaits them on Sunday night when Real Madrid comes visiting; however, they were the last team to beat Real Madrid in La Liga, the famous 3-1 victory in the recently concluded fixture at Wanda Metropolitano September, 2023.
Real Madrid is on pace to surpass Barcelona's all-time record of 43 games from 2017–18 with their current 39–0 La Liga record, but they will face a very difficult test this coming weekend.
With the addition of a certain Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer, Carlo Ancelotti's team is once again the favorite in both competitions. However, the Frenchman will miss his first Madrid derby due to injury. Last season, the team won both the La Liga and the Champions League.
Real Madrid is now four points behind division leaders Barcelona in the standings after winning five and drawing two of their seven league games this season, for a total of 17 points.
Five straight wins for Los Blancos in all competitions have included a 3-1 victory over Stuttgart in their Champions League opener on September 17 at Bernabeu.
In their last two league games, Ancelotti's club has also triumphed over Espanyol and Alaves at home. With three games remaining before the October international break, they will play Atletico and Villarreal in La Liga on the one hand, and Lille in the Champions League on the other.
In all competitions, Real Madrid has defeated Atletico 116 times in the past 236 meetings, yet it's reasonable to argue that the Red and Whites have enjoyed some of the victories in their most recent meetings.
The starting lineup for the 1-0 victory over Celta will be altered, with players like Alvarez, Rodrigo De Paul, and Samuel Lino expected to make a comeback.
Conor Gallagher is expected to play in his first Madrid derby this weekend after joining from Chelsea during the summer, and Alexander Sorloth may be the player to miss out in the latter third of the field as Alvarez is expected to play alongside Antoine Griezmann.
The main squad news for Real Madrid is that their top scorer, Kylian Mbappe, will not be playing because of a thigh injury he sustained against Alaves the previous game.
