Who will be kings of Madrid?

The highlight of the weekend from Spain’s top division is without a doubt the Madrid derby which takes place on Sunday evening at the Metropolitano Stadium. This is the first big derby of the season with both teams needing to win to keep up the pace with early leaders Barcelona, who have started the season in blistering form with seven wins from seven.

Atlético Madrid – What to Expect

Hosts Atlético played in midweek and managed a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo, a result that moved them to within two points of their opponents this weekend. This will be the 237th edition of the Madrid derby, known as the ‘Madrileno’ and it is Real who have the better record with 116 wins compared to 59 for Atlético with 61 ending as a draw. Last season the bragging rights from this fixture went to Atlético, as they won the match 3-1. They will be hoping to repeat that and they have certainly started the season well at home, they are yet to concede a single goal in any home league match this season, taking two wins from the three matches played so far. They have one loss in their last nine competitive games, with seven wins in that run. Goalscoring has not been a problem either as they have scored at least twice in three of their last four matches. Atlético have only conceded three goals so far, making theirs the best defensive record so far this season. 

Real Madrid – What to Expect

Real Madrid’s midweek match turned into somewhat of an uncomfortable evening as they surrendered a three goal lead to eventually hold on to a 3-2 win against Alavés. They remain unbeaten this season with five wins from their seven games and go into this match two points better off than their opponents. However, what will be of some concern to manager Carlo Ancellotti is that they have a relatively poor recent record against their Madrid rivals. They have only won one of the last five meetings, something he will want to improve on in this match. They have had a few injury issues at the start of the season and will now have to do without their most recent star signing from PSG for a few weeks due to a thigh injury. Real Madrid will also have to do without the likes of Alaba, Carvajal and Diaz. They have a poor record at the Metropolitano, winning only one of their last six visits. 

Julian Alvarez has a happy habit of scoring late goals and he scored against Real Madrid the last time he played against them, for his previous team Manchester City and it was he who got the late winning goal in their last match against Celta Vigo. Another new signing, Conor Gallagher, is also off the mark for his new club with two goals in their last three matches. For Real, the absence of their new French superstar means more responsibility on the shoulders of Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo, especially as Jude Bellingham has yet to get off the mark this season.

Final Thoughts

There is not much to choose between these two teams in terms of odds with Real being very slight favourites at 2.50, with the home team currently at 2.85.

Odds might have changed since the writing and publication of this article.

Last updated: 27.09.24