Sunday’s Madrid Derby promises to be influential at the La Liga summit, with Barcelona running away from bitter rivals Real Madrid with a chance to potentially move seven points clear this weekend. Neighbors Atletico are two points behind Los Blancos and will relish the chance to potentially overtake Carlo Ancelotti’s men with a win at the Estadio Metropolitano, but a loss could also see them slip five points behind their fierce foes, which would open up a considerable advantage for both Barca and Real according to the title race being between the two of them. Kylian Mbappe has already been ruled out from this one will therefore have to wait for his first taste of a derby day in the Spanish capital and it is worth noting that the defending champions are unbeaten in almost a year with their last defeat coming against Atleti. Not only is this second against third, but there is very little between the two sides with just two points and three goals separating them with the hosts’ defense stronger than their visitors’ back line even though the outside attack is more powerful than the domestic
We look at three keys for this one.
How will Real be without Kylian Mbappe?
There are few positive ways to turn around Mbappe’s absence, but one potential benefit to come from the French superstar’s demise is the increased number of minutes that Rodrygo and Endrick should get in the coming weeks. Ancelotti remains spoiled for choice in attack and Vini Jr. can even occupy his preferred role without having to worry too much about competing on the pitch with Mbappe due to their similar playing styles. Jude Bellingham’s questionable fitness since the start of the season is also something to worry about for Ancelotti with a view to another long season and an uphill battle to already make up ground on Barca. In that regard, a return to what worked so well last campaign could benefit Real, as they cannot afford another sluggish display, which has been the trend so far, with Mbappe taking his time to adapt despite some respectable numbers individually and collectively.
Will Atleti use Julian Alvarez as a super sub?
The history of the Argentine international so far with Atletico has been similar to that of his time with Manchester City, with his two goals coming as a substitute and his main minutes not really turning out that much. Antoine Griezmann has remained the creative hub of the team so far with two goals and three assists to his name, with one of those setting up Alvarez for one of those two goals this midweek in a late 1-0 win over Celta Vigo. Marcos Llorente was the main recipient of that creativity with two goals from Griezmann’s hard graft and it feeds into this idea that Atleti could be better in this game with Álvarez coming off the bench in the final 30 minutes to exploit a tired Real , who. already have to pay attention to the accumulated minutes of their star players.
Atleti’s defense against Real’s attack
The numbers are very interesting ahead of this one, with Mbappe’s goals quite notable as three of his tally of five so far have been penalties, which illustrates the true nature of his difficult start to life with Real in La Liga, which may be overlooked because the numbers look pretty respectable. If you subtract those three points from Los Blancos’ total, then Real and Atleti’s goal difference is level and the home side’s stronger defense really starts to count for something more. Having conceded two fewer goals so far, if Diego Simeone’s men can keep a reigning Real attack at bay then another narrow victory could be on the cards with Mbappe absent and having to return to the setup of last year’s Atleti advantage in play with such high stakes. .
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