The 169th league encounter between two sides in the Capital of Spain is billed to go down on Sunday evening.
Real Madrid are going into the derby on the back of a 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad while Atletico Madrid will be looking to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Real Mallorca.
10 points separate league leaders ‘Los Blancos’ to fourth placed ‘Los Rojiblancos’ although Simeone’s men have a game to spare.
The derby which will take place at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu has seen great players over the years such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stefano, Raymond Kopa, Fernando Torres, Delima Ronaldo, Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa and co.
Head To Head
Of the 168 games that have been played between both sides, Real Madrid have won 89 while their rivals Atletico have been victors on 39 occassions, the remaining 40 games have ended in a draw.
Records
Cristiano Ronaldo is the Madrid Derby all-time top scorer. From 31 games with Real Madrid, he scored 22 goals against Atlético Madrid.
Delima Ronaldo holds the record for the fastest goal in Madrid derby history having netted his goal within 14 seconds
Sergio Ramos is the player with most derby appearances with 43 apps to his name.
Crossing the Divide
Spaniard José Luis Pérez-Payá (Atlético Madrid 1950–51; Real Madrid 1953–54, 1954–55) and Belgian Thibaut Courtois (Atlético Madrid 2013–14; Real Madrid 2019–20) are the only two players to have won La liga titles with both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Thibaut Courtois, Alvaro Morata, Juanfran, Mario Hermoso, Jose Antonio Reyes, are among the host of players to don the jersey of both clubs.
The last meeting between both sides ended in a 1-1 draw at the Metropolitano in March this year.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has issued an update regarding Karim Benzema’s fitness and has expressed confidence that the Frenchman will return in time to take on Atletico.
Benzema who has netted Atletico 6 times in 23 games went off in Madrid’s previous fixture against Sociedad with a tight hamstring. With 12 goals and 7 assists this season in the league, the ‘Los Merengues’ will be counting on the services of the former Lyon man alongside Brazilian Vinicius Junior, a pair that has caused Spanish sides havoc this season.
Meanwhile Atletico striker Luis Suarez is unlikely to make the starting lineup having suffered an injury during their midweek win in the Champions League over Porto.
A win for Atletico opens the title race once again for the top four sides while a Madrid win further takes the fight away from their rivals.
OJB SPORT 