El Derbi Madrileno – The Madrid Derby. This is what is in store for football fans this weekend. Coming just days ahead of their respective Champions League quarter-final matches, this is a fixture that could have potentially damaging effects to both clubs on their quest for glory in La Liga too.
The sides will enter the bull-ring together once again on Saturday in what will be the 214th meeting between two of Spanish football’s powerhouses. They have 42 league titles between them. Real Madrid’s most recent success came in 2012, although Diego Simeone’s Atletico side shocked Barcelona and the entire footballing world on the final day of the 2013/14 season to snatch the title from under their noses. In the four years since claiming that crown, they have not lost a league fixture at the Bernabeu – the venue for this weekend’s clash.
Real Madrid won the reverse fixture 3-0 away from home in November. Cristiano Ronaldo netted a superb hat-trick that day but has failed to live up to his lofty expectations of previous seasons and currently has 19 strikes to his name in 2016/17. Los Blancos currently sit ten points ahead of their neighbours and have played a game fewer. They have also now scored in 51 consecutive games and would be expected to do so once again at home on Saturday.
Atleti’s French forward Antoine Griezmann is in confident mood ahead of the “Rojiblancos” trip to their nearest rivals. “I always have the utmost confidence in my teammates and I'd go as far as to say that I fancy us to get a positive result on Saturday, it is an important game for our fans and for us so we hope it turns out well.” They have won five in a row in the league including seven in their last nine and have conceded just twice since their defeat at the hands of Barcelona back in February.
Zidane and Simeone came to blows many times during their days in Italy playing for Juventus and Lazio respectively and that rivalry will be reignited on the touchline. Each of these managers has brought with them a sense of stability to clubs who in the years prior seemed to be disappearing into the shadows of a rejuvenated Barcelona. Diego Simeone delivered a first league title in nearly 20 years, the 10th in the club’s history whilst his opposite number, Zidane brought the Champions League back home in his first season, beating city rivals Atletico in the final for the second time in three seasons.
The league will not be won or lost on Saturday but one thing is for certain – A Real Madrid win will see them move 13 points ahead of their neighbours and five clear of Barcelona in second with just eight games to play. Zidane has been under constant pressure since he took over and that would only increase if he doesn’t manage to avoid a defeat. A win for Atletico would blow the title race wide open and while they are not everyone's bet for the title, it would give Barcelona the chance to go top of La Liga when they face Malaga later on Saturday.