Sparks are likely to fly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this evening as the Madrid derby kicks off at 20:00 CEST. While Diego Simeone and Carlo Ancelotti share a great mutual respect for each other, relations between the boards are not the best, and Real Madrid will be seeking revenge for what remains their only defeat this season, 3-1 in September.
While the game will be on neutral ground, Atletico will be hoping to halt a poor run away from the Metropolitano, where they have been beaten on their last four outings. Simeone looks set to bring Marcos Llorente into midfield alongside Koke Resurreccion and Rodrigo de Paul, as per Diario AS.
Marca have put out the same line-up for Los Rojiblancos, with Samuel Lino and Nahuel Molina hoping to cause similar chaos to what they managed in their first meeting while Stefan Savic is also expeccted to replace Axel Witsel in the backline.
Real Madrid will use Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes and Jude Bellingham furthest forward, leaving no room for Brahim Diaz, in spite of his excellent form. Eduardo Camavinga could start again, flanked by Toni Kroos and Fede Valverde.
Ferland Mendy was back in training on Sunday, and he is expected to come straight back into the line-up – Dani Carvajal’s competition Lucas Vazquez has gone down with injury, meaning he too will start.
The big two Madrid papers only differ on the goalkeeper, with Marca backing Kepa Arrizabalaga to start, and AS keen on using Andriy Lunin. The latest on the wider issue of the number one spot is that Lunin has a slight edge oin Kepa.
Great stories.
I would love to get more stories via my email.