The Madrid derby might just be the biggest game in world football this weekend (although the same could be said for the North London derby as well). We’ll see if Diego Simeone can inspire his Atletico Madrid side to hold serve at home against their cross-town rivals.
In order to do so, he’ll have to overcome some injury absentees in central midfield.
El Derbi Madrileño FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Sept. 24, 8pm, Civitas Metropolitan Stadium, Madrid, Spain
Starting XI Predictions: Real Madrid Atletico Madrid
Team News: Real Madrid Atletico Madrid
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
La Liga Position, Form: Real Madrid 1st, 15 pts, WWWWW Atletico Madrid 7th, 7 pts, LWDW
Google Result Probability: Real Madrid 37% Draw 28% Atletico Madrid 35%
Plus they’re coming off back to back bad losses. Then again, it’s not like Real Madrid are completely invincible either. Jude Bellingham has kind of carried them at times.
That all said, let’s take a look at who Simeone might pick for his first 11 here.
Atletico Madrid Starting XI Prediction vs Real Madrid
Jan Oblak; Stefan Savic, Jose Maria Gimenez, Mario Hermoso; Nahuel Molina, Marcos Llorente, Saul Niguez, Rodrigo Riquelme; Antoine Griezmann; Angel Correa, Alvaro Morata
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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