Madrid Derby 2015: Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid Live Stream Schedule and Pick
One of the fiercest local derbies on the planet takes place on Sunday as Real Madrid battle neighbours Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.
The royal team of Spain visit their down-to-earth inner-city rivals in what is due to be one of the last El Derbi madrileno at the Calderon before Atleti move to their new purpose-built La Peineta stadium in 2016.
The home side look a shadow of the outfit that won La Liga in 2013-14, and have resumed their status as the best of the also-rans at the top of the table.
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Los Blancos currently sit third in Spain's top division, but they have a wretched record at the Calderon in recent times, being hammered 4-0 by Diego Simeone's side in February.
Here is how you can watch the electric Madrid tussle, with TV and stream info, as well as a match preview:
Date: Sunday, Oct. 4
Time: 2:30 p.m. (ET) / 7:30 p.m. (BST)
TV Info: BeIN Sports (US only); Sky Sports 1 and HD (UK only)
Stream: BeIN Sports Connect (US only); Sky Go (UK only)
Match Preview
As Barcelona struggle in their early defence of the La Liga crown, eyes from the capital city will be watching on with glee before both of their top clubs clash in the Madrid derby.
The focus is once again on Cristiano Ronaldo, with the mercurial attacker on the brink of breaking the Galacticos' all-time goalscoring record.
As reported by James Whaling of the Mirror, CR7 stands equal with the legendary Raul on 323 goals, with the player given the opportunity of grabbing the accolade against his club's bitter local rivals.
However, Real's recent record against Atleti is poor, with the royal side only defeating their more humble neighbours once in eight attempts, per Sky Sports.
Simeone's team have learned how to deal with the Real attack over the past couple of seasons, taking four clean sheets in the past eight fixtures, but Los Blancos are likely to employ a change of tactics this time.
New Madrid coach Rafael Benitez is famed for his defensive style, and his side have displayed steel in the opening weeks of the campaign. And even though he still has all of his attacking weapons intact, he appears to be concentrating on stopping opponents before allowing his flair creators off the leash.
Atleti have lost a series of star players, and do not look the potent force they were two years ago when they shocked the world and took the La Liga title away from the top two.
However, Spanish football pundit Gerry Armstrong believes Simeone's team have a great chance of maintaining their derby record on Sunday, and are capable of putting an early dent in the Real armoury, per Sky Sports:
"I think Atletico could cause a surprise. Atletico are very well organised, they give very little away. They play very well as a unit, they close down and press, which is something Real Madrid don't like. Real Madrid have got better players. Luka Modric I love, he's class. His countryman Mateo Kovacic, who was signed this summer, looks class as well. Karim Benzema has been finding the back of the net recently, too.
But Real are missing Sergio Ramos and Pepe. At the weekend Nacho came in and did ok, but you can still see his failings. He and Raphael Varane didn't look as comfortable as a Varane and Ramos or Ramos and Pepe pairing would. They're still not totally there yet.
"
The defensive statistics do not marry up with Armstrong's thinking, with Real conceding just the once in six games, despite the centre-back pairings Benitez has plumped for. But Atleti have only let in three goals in the same period in La Liga, so this promises to be a very tight affair.
In years gone by, Madrid would have gone to the Calderon with ideas of smashing their less illustrious brothers, causing humiliation in the process.
But with Benitez in charge, it will be a very cautious Real who take to the pitch on Sunday evening, looking to counterpunch and shuffle their toes, rather than stand and fight in a slugfest.
Ronaldo will want his all-important goal to take Raul's record, and to do it at the Calderon will rub salt in the Colchoneros' wound.
Antoine Griezmann will be the home team's great hope in the derby match, with the attacker's influence growing by the month for Simeone.
The Frenchman scored 22 goals in only 29 La Liga starts last season, and he has the quality to break down the visitors' defensive action.
Even though the Rojiblancos have home advantage, this game could swing to a motivated Madrid, who could show better levels of discipline than in previous attempts. The pace of Ronaldo will be the key, as it often is for the Galacticos, and the Portugal icon will demand his name be on the scoresheet come the end of the match.
Real will have too much in the tank for an Atletico side weakened by the natural process of a selling club, and Ronaldo will obtain his slice of history as his team look to take top spot from Villarreal.
Pick: Real Madrid win 1-0
