11 December 2021, 10:28 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
El Derbi Madrileño, Real Madrid vs. Atlético de Madrid, kicks off at 21:00 (GMT+1) on Sunday, December 12, at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Preview Real Madrid La Liga, Dec 12, 2021
Preview Having finished at the top of UEFA Champions League Group D, following the 2-0 win over Inter Milan on UCL Matchday 6, Real Madrid is back in La Liga to pick up from where they left off. Goals from Toni Kross (17’) and Marco Asensio (79’) saw Madrid sweep the Italian outfit aside in the star-studded arena of champions. Back on Spanish soil, Madrid re-asserted their dominance on the domestic front with another 2-0 win over Real Sociedad. Vinicius Junior (47'), who has been in remarkable goalscoring form all season, bagged the opener two minutes after the break. Minutes later, Luka Jovic (57') wrapped up the three points for Madrid at the Anoeta Stadium. Sitting at the top of the table, Real Madrid returns with five straight victories, WWWWW, coupled with 39 points from 12W, 3D, and 1L. Ten points separate Real Madrid from fourth-placed Atletico Madrid. Furthermore, Los Blancos have an eight-point lead over their closest rivals, second-placed Sevilla. Carlo Ancelotti gave an update over Karim Benzema in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s derby. I think it’ll be a hard-fought game, Ancelotti said. There are some key aspects when you come up against teams like them, such as duels, set pieces, open spaces, because they’re very strong defensively. They’re a threat on the counter-attack, and we’ll have to prepare in these areas and be smart, the Madrid boss added. The team is in good shape. We’ve got a few days to monitor the progress of Benzema, who trained on his own today. Casemiro is fine, and the rest of them are fit and ready, Ancelotti included. An attacking 4—3—3 formation, with Luka Jovic at the center of the attacking trio, is anticipated on Sunday.
Preview Atlético Madrid La Liga, Dec 12, 2021
Preview On UCL Matchday 6, Atlético Madrid secured a place in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 with a 3-1 win over FC Porto. Back on Italian soil, ATM picked up a 2-1 loss to Real Mallorca last Saturday at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. It was the first defeat for Diego Simeone’s side in five LaLiga games: WDWWL, and the result saw them move from 2nd to 4th place, while having 29 points from 8W, 5D, and 2L. Atletico Madrid has a goal ratio of 1.8 g.p.g. this season, having scored 27 goals in 15 La Liga games. They have also conceded 16 goals (1.07 goals conceded per game) and have a G.D. of +11. A two-pronged attack, fashioned in a dynamic 3—5—2 or conventional 4—4—2 formation, is expected for this game against Real Madrid. Kieran Trippier (shoulder injury) and Luis Suárez (muscle injury) are both ruled out of this fixture.