LaLiga leaders and defending champions Real host second-placed Atletico in the Madrid derby on Saturday.
Who: Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
What: Spanish LaLiga
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
When: Saturday, February 7 at 9pm local time (20:00 GMT)
Follow media’s live text and photo commentary stream of the match.
LaLiga leaders Real Madrid entertain Atletico Madrid in the derby in the Spanish capital at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday with their cross-city rivals only one point behind them in the table.
Real lifted both the LaLiga and Champions League titles last season and are favourites to do so once more.
In advance of the meeting between the next-door rivals, in terms of both geography and league position, media takes a closer look at one of world football’s greatest derbies.
Despite their position at the top of the table, Madrid have had a mixed start to their season, leading to speculation that this could be manager Carlo Ancelotti’s last season in charge.
Los Blancos were thumped 4-0 in LaLiga by Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu in October then lost 5-2 to their fierce rivals from Catalonia in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia in January.
A run of five defeats and a draw in 12 matches rocked the early stage of the season and left their qualification from the League Phase of the Champions League in doubt at one stage. Ancelotti’s side recovered to achieve a playoff position in their attempt to reach the last 16 but must now face the side they replaced as Champions League winners last season, Manchester City, in the next round.
Diego Simeone took over as manager in December 2011 and has become an iconic figure at the helm of Atletico. Living in the shadow of Real has never been easy but Atletico have always stood the test under the leadership of the tough-talking and tackling Argentinian, who was famously on the receiving end of a kick that resulted in a red card for England’s David Beckham at the France 1998 World Cup.
This season started with a similarly bumpy ride to that of Real with Atletico winning only six of their first 14 games. It led to speculation that the dream run of Simeone, who has been linked with jobs at Chelsea and Tottenham in England, may be finally heading towards a decline.
Los Colchoneros soon reversed the momentum and have since won 19 of their last 21 matches, including a 15-game winning streak, while losing only once in that time. It has resulted in Atletico nestling in behind Real and ahead of Barca in the league, while finishing fifth in the Champions League to qualify directly as one of the top eight for the last 16 – thus skipping the playoffs, where Real face the potential banana skin of former Barcelona idol Pep Guardiola’s City.
Simeone led Atletico to the LaLiga title in 2020-2021, their second title under the Argentinian with the previous coming in 2013-2014 – marking the club’s first since 1976-1977. Los Colchoneros have won the title 11 times in total.
Last season’s triumph was Real’s record-extending 36th league title. Barcelona are their closest challengers with 27 titles to their name. Athletic Bilbao have won eight, and Valencia – the last side to break the Real, Barca, Athletico winning streak – won their sixth title in 2003-2004.
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