Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid: Team News, Predicted XIs, Live Stream, TV Info
Atletico Madrid will welcome Real Madrid to the Vicente Calderon on Tuesday for the first leg of their highly anticipated Champions League quarter-final clash.
Amazingly, Tuesday's meeting will be the seventh El Derbi madrileno of the season, following the pairs of matches already contested between these teams in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
For the hosts, the season scoreline between the sides makes for happy reading, with Diego Simeone's men unbeaten in the six games and victorious on four occasions. And in the three matches at the Vicente Calderon against Carlo Ancelotti's European champions, Los Colchoneros are yet to concede a single goal.
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In team news, Atleti will welcome Mario Mandzukic back into the starting XI, with Simeone confirming in his pre-match press conference that the Croatian will take his place at the head of the attack, per Patricia Cazon of AS.
At the back, Diego Godin is also likely to return to the side, having sat out the last two league clashes against Real Sociedad and Malaga, while Jesus Gamez is expected to continue playing out of position on the left side of Simeone's back four.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, arrive at this pivotal matchup having recaptured a good portion of their best form with their straight wins over Granada, Rayo Vallecano and Eibar.
There will also be a sense of optimism surrounding the visitors for this "derbi" despite their regular struggles in this fixture. Indeed, each time Los Blancos have faced Atletico this season, the capital's glamour side has been dealing with new problems, with cohesion issues affecting the first three games, fatigue hampering their Copa del Rey campaign and injuries contributing to the mauling in the last league meeting.
This time, however, the narrative is different for Real, who should enter Tuesday's first leg at the Vicente Calderon with their strongest XI both healthy and in form, after Ancelotti confirmed Gareth Bale will return to the lineup, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan.
Date: Tuesday, April 14
Time: 7:45 p.m. BST / 2:45 p.m. EDT / 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Estadio Vicente Calderon, Madrid
TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), Fox Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), Fox Sports Go (U.S.)
Form Lines
| D: 2-2 vs. Malaga | W: 3-0 vs. Eibar |
| W: 2-0 vs. Real Sociedad | W: 2-0 vs. Rayo Vallecano |
| W: 2-0 vs. Cordoba | W: 9-1 vs. Granada |
| W: 2-0 vs. Getafe | L: 1-2 vs. Barcelona |
| W: 1-0 vs. Bayer Leverkusen | W: 2-0 vs. Levante |
| D: 0-0 vs. Espanyol | L: 3-4 vs. Schalke |
Predicted Formations
Players to Watch
Last time these two great foes met, Mario Mandzukic put together a truly outstanding exhibition of centre-forward play, physically dominating the inexperienced pairing of Nacho and Raphael Varane to help propel Atletico to a staggering 4-0 triumph.
But since that afternoon at the Vicente Calderon, the Croatian has only scored once in seven appearances, has been the subject of a reported rift between he and Simeone and has battled with an ankle injury that has limited his playing time and effectiveness.
Suddenly, an impressive debut season in Spain has been halted.
Tuesday night's clash with Real Madrid would be a great time to rediscover his form.
In the Real Madrid camp, meetings with Atletico Madrid haven't been memorable for Iker Casillas this season.
When the teams met at the Bernabeu in September, the club icon remained rooted to the spot as Tiago headed in Atleti's opener despite being just a few feet from Casillas following Koke's corner.
After the final whistle went, a chorus of them were directed as Casillas from the stands.
Then, in February, when the teams met in the league again, Tiago benefitted from a Casillas mistake once more, as his long shot crept underneath Real's goalkeeper to establish a lead Los Blancos could never overturn.
Real Madrid can't afford a repeat performance.
Key Battle
When Simeone was asked about what he expected from Real Madrid on Tuesday, he was quick to direct his focus on one player: Luka Modric.
"The presence of Modric will give Madrid an aggressive angle and they will have much more presence in the center of the pitch due to his presence," the Argentinian said.
As made so clear this season, this incarnation of Real Madrid is a different beast when the Croatian midfielder is in the XI, giving Los Blancos a considerably faster tempo and a more diverse range of passing.
Notably, Atleti haven't had to deal with Modric in any of the last three meetings between the sides, meaning central duo Gabi and Tiago will have a far greater task on their hands this time in controlling Real's midfield maestro and his exchanges with James Rodriguez.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Atletico Madrid: 47/25
Draw: 23/10
Real Madrid: 17/10
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