Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu forms the backdrop for the 238th Madrid derby between La Liga title rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid’s La Liga title defense took a hit last weekend as bottom-half Espanyol stunned the reigning champions 1-0, allowing second-placed Atletico Madrid to close the gap to a single point. ‘Los Blancos’ have the H2H history firmly on their side ahead of this top-table six-pointer (W116, D62, L59). Yet, manager Carlo Ancelotti laments a substandard win ratio of only 35% against this opposition (W8, D7, L8). The Italian veteran can take heart from Real Madrid’s impressive eight-game unbeaten home league run against their crosstown rivals (W5, D3) dating back to February 2016. Furthermore, ‘Los Merengues’ have been almost perfect at home this season, winning 90% of their top-flight matches at the Bernabeu (W9, L1), including the last four in a row via multi-goal margins.

In the meantime, Atletico Madrid took advantage of Real’s slip-up with a 2-0 home win against Mallorca to increase their chances of winning their third La Liga title under long-serving manager Diego Simeone. It was a fitting reward for the Argentine’s 500th top-flight match in charge of ‘Los Colchoneros,’ offering the visitors a respite after a frustrating 1-0 defeat at newcomers Leganes on their last league road trip. Worryingly, that was Atletico’s second loss from their past five La Liga travels (W3) – only one fewer than in their previous 15 such fixtures combined (W7, D5, L3). Atletico last conquered the division in 2020/21 but still slumped to a 2-0 defeat on this ground. However, they’ve held their bitter rivals to back-to-back 1-1 draws in their two most recent league H2Hs on this ground.