Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid preview

January 6, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Atletico vs RealThe Copa del Rey draw was not exactly kind to either La Liga champions Atletico or Champions League holders Real Madrid, seeing as the bitter rivals will be vying for one place in the quarter-finals.

Los Colchoneros won the first trophy of the season by pipping their arch rivals to the Spanish Super Cup trophy, but they currently trail los Blancos in the La Liga title chase.

Nonetheless, Diego Simeone can be quite satisfied with how his new-look team have fared this season, although things only start to get exciting.

Atletico took great advantage of Real and Barca slip-ups as they defeated Levante to revive their title bid, which should give them confidence going into the Copa del Rey clash against Real.

Los Colchoneros have been pretty successful in past meetings against their rivals, so they can be backed at 3.60 (13/5) to win the first leg.

Vicente Calderon hero Fernando Torres is expected to make his first appearance since returning to the club and he can be backed at 3.30 (23/10) to score on his return.

Diego Simeone is expected to make a number of changes to his starting line-up, while Joao Miranda and Cristian Ansaldi remain on the sidelines.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Oblak – Gamez, Godin, Gimenez, Juanfran – Mario, Gabi, Koke – Garcia, Torres, Griezmann.

The derby game against Atletico comes at a bad time for Real Madrid, with team’s amazing 22-match winning run having just ended.

Los Blancos were beaten by Valencia at Mestalla in the first game in the New Year, despite taking the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real did not pay such a big price for said defeat as title rivals Barcelona also lost, meaning they remain one point clear of their nearest rivals, albeit with a game in hand.

Los Blancos will obviously be very motivated to return to winning ways as soon as possible, and they are 2.20 (6/5) to win at Vicente Calderon.

Daniel Carvajal is tipped to start given that he is banned for the weekend’s clash against Espanyol, while Marcelo is a slight doubt.

Luka Modric continues the rehabilitation process, with Sami Khedira, Raphael Varane and Keylor Navas pushing for starting places.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Navas – Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Coentrao – Isco, Khedira, Rodriguez – Jese, Benzema, Ronaldo.

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