Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid 2023/24 La Liga Match Preview, Team News and Prediction
Atletico Madrid will host city rivals Real Madrid in the first Madrid derby of the new La Liga season this Sunday.
Diego Simeone’s side had a mixed start to the new season with a 3-1 victory over Granada before drawing with Real Betis in their second match; a 7-0 win over Rayo Vallecano came at the end of August, but they lost 3-0 to Valencia in the league last weekend.
Furthermore, they were close to winning their opening game of the Champions League group stage against Lazio, but Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel scored a stoppage-time header.
A defeat against Los Blancos on Sunday will leave them 11 points behind their city rivals and might even end their hopes of winning La Liga.
On the other hand, Real Madrid currently sits on top of La Liga table with 15 points. The table toppers have not put a foot wrong since the start of the season, as they have won every single match this season.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have overcome Athletic Bilbao, Almeria, Celta Vigo, Getafe, and Real Sociedad in Spain’s top flight. Furthermore, they have started their Champions League group stage campaign with a 1-0 victory over Union Berlin.
Their new signing Jude Bellingham, have scored six goals in six appearances, which is a remarkable start to his career.
Atletico Madrid team news
Atletico will definitely be without the services of Thomas Lemar, Caglar Soyuncu, Reinildo and Barrios for the Madrid derby. Meanwhile, Rodrigo De Paul, Koke and Memphis Depay face late fitness tests.
Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata are expected to start as the front two for this match, with Samuel Lino retaining his spot as the left-sided wing-back.
Real Madrid team news
Real Madrid will miss Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao due to ACL injuries. Right-back Dani Carvajal will also miss the Madrid derby.
Vinicius Junior and new signing Arda Guler are back in training, but they are not expected to start the game.
Veteran Midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos could be benched for this game. Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga are expected to start for Los Blancos.
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Predicted line-ups
Atletico Madrid (3-5-2): Oblak; Savic, Gimenez, Hermoso; Molina, Saul, Llorente, De Paul, Javi Galan; Griezmann, Morata
Real Madrid (4-3-1-2): Kepa; Vazquez, Rudiger, Alaba, F Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Joselu
Prediction
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid will make it tough for the Los Blancos to score goals in this game. Moreover, Ancelotti’s side is not particularly playing good football and this will be their first big test. Simeone will have a gameplan against city rivals and will make sure that Atletico take a win at the Wanda Metropolitano.
