Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid 01/02/20

1 February 2020

After coming out victorious in their midweek’s Copa del Rey clash against Zaragoza, Real Madrid go back to La Liga (LL) action as Atletico Madrid arrive at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.

Although they finished 2019 with back-to-back goalless draws, the hosts got off to a flying start this calendar year, securing three LL wins from as many outings, with two of them coming via a single-goal margin. Still unbeaten at home in the league this season (W7, D3), Los Blancos bagged two goals or more in seven of ten LL home fixtures, finding the opening goal on seven of those occasions too. Particularly dangerous in the final 15 minutes of play, Real Madrid have found the net in that interval in nine of 21 LL games so far this season, with only two sides bettering that record. The clean-sheet theme is also on the cards, given that Zinedine Zidane’s men have kept a blank sheet in five of their last eight competitive home matches.

After losing on penalties in the Spanish Super Cup final, Atletico will be looking to return the favor and beat Real in a competitive showdown for the first time since 2017. But, that doesn’t look likely to happen as they take on a side that they have failed to defeat in the last four competitive H2Hs held here (D3, L1). Additionally, Los Colchoneros have yet to pick up a win away from home this calendar year in all competitions (D1, L1), scoring only one goal across those fixtures. When bringing their LL road trips since October into play, six of Atletico’s last seven LL away games have separated the sides by a margin of under 1.5 goals. Frustratingly for Diego Simeone, his men won just one of those seven matches (D5, L1).