Atletico Madrid will host Real Madrid on Sunday in the first capital city derby of the 2023/24 La Liga campaign.
The first Madrid Derby of the 2023/24 season is scheduled to kick off on Sunday at 21:00 CEST, when Atltico Madrid host leaders Real Madrid at the Metropolitano. Los Blancos currently top the table with a 100% record, so Atleti will view this as a great opportunity to cut the gap. It should be a thriller and here are five factors worth looking out for ahead of this exciting Matchday 6 duel.
Atletico Madrid will aim to end Real Madrid’s winning streak
Los Blancos have hit the ground running this season. They have won their first five games of the campaign, scoring 10 goals and conceding just three. Three of these five wins were comeback victories secured despite the opponents taking the lead and the latest came on Sunday night, when Fran Garcia teed up both Fede Valverde and Joselu to help Carlo Ancelotti’s side turn the game around and secure a 2-1 win against Real Sociedad. It’s now the turn of Real Madrid’s city rivals to try to put an end to the five-game winning streak.
The first Atletico Madrid home game in over a month
Diego Simeone’s side have played in front of their fans just once so far this season. In their season opener, Atleti hosted newly-promoted Granada at the Metropolitano, securing a 3-1 victory courtesy of goals from Alvaro Morata, Memphis Depay and Marcos Llorente. A few weeks later, their home game with Sevilla that was initially scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 3rd, had to be postponed due to a serious rainstorm. This means Atletico Madrid fans will have patiently waited 41 days to watch their team play again on home soil, so they’ll be extra passionate in the stands as they hope to see what would be just a second derby win at this stadium since their move there in 2017.
Jude Bellingham’s first Madrid Derby
Several players will be taking part in their first Madrid Derby this Sunday, such as Cesar Azpilicueta, Javi Galan, Kepa, Joselu or Fran Garcia. Yet, the debutant most are interested to see is Jude Bellingham, the English midfielder who has been excellent so far for Real Madrid, scoring five goals in his first five games. This will be his biggest test yet, so it will be fascinating to see how he tries to break through Atletico Madrid’s sturdy back line.
Atletico Madrid’s need to bounce back
Having kept the backbone of the team intact over the summer, Atletico de Madrid entered the 2023/24 campaign aiming to compete with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for the title. Yet, they have already dropped five points. Atleti did beat Granada CF and cruised past Rayo Vallecano with a dominant 7-0 win, but they drew 0-0 at Real Betis and lost 3-0 last weekend at Valencia. Simeone’s side may have one game in hand, but a defeat to Real Madrid this weekend would see Los Rojiblancos drop 11 points behind the leaders. Meanwhile, a potential victory against their city rivals could see them reduce the gap to Los Blancos to five points.
A duel between two world-class coaches
Carlo Ancelotti and Diego Simeone will face each for the 21st time in their successful coaching careers. In fact, no coach has come up against the Atleti tactician more times than the Italian. Their head-to-head record is quite even, as Ancelotti has celebrated eight wins, while Simeone has come out victorious seven times and five games have ended in a draw. As two of the most decorated coaches worldwide, Ancelotti and Simeone have expressed a mutual admiration on several occasions. Now, the two tacticians will lock horns again on Sunday and try to outsmart each other in order to gain an edge in one of the most anticipated games of the season.
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