Real Madrid can ill-afford to fail to get revenge for their thrashing away at Atletico Madrid when they host their city rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Madrid are four points behind Clasico rivals Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, and that gap could be stretched to seven by the time the derby kicks off. Barca host Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou seven hours before Madrid face Atletico.
As such, there is likely to be significant pressure on Alvaro Arbeloa’s men to ensure the title race does not tilt further in Barcelona’s direction before top-tier club football pauses for an international break.
Madrid are coming off an emphatic 5-1 aggregate win over Manchester City in the Champions League last 16, but seeing off Atletico will be no mean feat.
Atletico hammered a Madrid side managed by Xabi Alonso 5-2 back in September, and are winless in three home league games against Diego Simeone’s men, who knocked out Tottenham in their last-16 tie, setting up a Champions League quarter-final against Barca.
The Rojiblancos would move within six points of second-placed Madrid with a first away LaLiga win in this fixture in over a decade.
Hoping to deny them will be Madrid star Kylian Mbappe, who made his return from injury in the second leg against City on Tuesday.
However, Atletico have a forward in excellent form in Julian Alvarez, who has been involved in nine goals (six goals, three assists) in his last 11 appearances.
With Champions League football for next season all but confirmed for Atletico, Simeone’s men can attack this game without pressure.
Indeed, the success of their campaign is now more tied to the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad next month and the pursuit of a first Champions League crown.
For Madrid, though, there is no let up on the scrutiny.
The performance across the two legs against City will have given Arbeloa some credit in the bank, but he will be in for a lot of criticism if their success in Europe is followed by a potentially decisive setback in the derby.
Team news for Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid
Eder Militao (hamstring), Dani Ceballos (calf), Rodrygo (knee) and Thibaut Courtois (thigh) are all set to miss out for Madrid, though Jude Bellingham and Ferland Mendy have both returned to training and could feature.
Pablo Barrios is unavailable for Atletico with a thigh issue, while a muscle injury will keep Rodrigo Mendoza out.
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak is a doubt with a hip problem.
Predicted line-ups for Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid: Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Valverde; Guler; Mbappe, Vinicius.
Atletico Madrid: Musso; Molina, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Llorente, Cardoso, Lookman; Sorloth, Alvarez.
Where to watch Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid: TV and online streams
Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid will kick off at 8:00pm UK time. It will be broadcast on Premier Sports 1 (subscription required). Premier Sports subscribers can also watch via the Premier Sports Player. Additionally, it can be streamed through La Liga TV (subscription required).
Bet365 customers with funds in their account can watch the game on the bet365 website or the app.
