• March 28, 2024

Madrid face another major test on derby night

madrid derby

MADRID DERBY TONIGHT: REAL MADRID VS ATLETICO MADRID

The tough encounters now appear to be coming thick and fast for Real Madrid in the La Liga as they welcome derby rivals Atletico Madrid to the Santiago Bernabeu tonight in what should be a cracker.

The Los Blancos are coming off the back of a 3 nil loss away to Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in midweek and will be keen to get back to winning ways, albeit against a very formidable opposition.

Atletico Madrid have apparently learned how to play at the Bernabeu and have proven to be a hard nut for Los Merengues to crack in the last 5 La Liga meetings at the Bernabeu.

The last 5 Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid meetings at the Bernabeu have seen the away side emerge with 3 wins, and two draws. They are yet to suffer a loss at the Bernabeu in the La Liga in 5 games, and this game should pass for another big test for Julen Lopetegui and his men.

Lopetegui’s men appear to be struggling for goals, and this has been evident in the last 3 league encounters with just 2 goals scored in the last 3 games, thus resulting in worries about the side’s consistency in attack.

READ: Real Madrid were second best against Sevilla

However, Lopetegui has insisted that this is no cause for worry as his side are a very dominant force when it comes to attacking. Speaking after the last game, ahead of the Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid fixture, he said:

“You can take any kind of data from different angles, but we have created a lot of chances, even in the last game – especially in the second half”

“We will continue to do that, for sure. Real Madrid always score goals.”

Therefore, tonight’s game against arguably the strongest defence in the La La Liga should put Lopetegui’s theory to test, whilst Los Blancos will also be wary of the threat that the likes of Griezmann and Diego Costa will pose on the break.

A win for Madrid will see them keep hold of Barcelona in the title race while an unimaginable loss will see Diego Simeone’s men leapfrog them on the log to second place or first place, dependent on the outcome of the Barcelona game.

Meanwhile, we wait to see who’ll start in goal for Real Madrid in this game as the competition for the regular spot between Keylor Navas and Thibaut Courtois is still far from over, regardless of the UCL competition in midweek.

We wait to see how Lopetegui and his men respond tonight after the loss to Sevilla, and more so, how the attack will perform against a resolute Atletico Madrid defense.

Benzema has to make a positive impact in today’s game. The Frenchman appears to have crept back into his shell after the international break and it doesn’t bode well for Los Blancos if they are to mount a significant title challenge.

Mariano Diaz should also get some reasonable game time in this one as Madrid have to get going right from the start before Deigo Simeone’s men settle into the game.

This should be a very tough game for Real Madrid, but hopefully, they return to winning ways tonight.