The Madrid derby is one of the most important matches of the season for La Liga fans around the world, and it’s set for Sunday at the Wanda Metropolitano. Two different teams with distinct styles and histories will face each other with more than bragging rights on the line. Since Diego Simeone’s arrival on the Atletico Madrid bench, the Argentinian coach made the derbies even more attractive and intense than before with his team’s consistent play. This time Real Madrid arrive in a very positive but more relaxed mood since winning the league last weekend and advancing past Manchester City in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday. Atletico are looking to hold on to fourth place in the league and would do well by getting anything from this showdown.
Here’s what you need to know:
How to watch and odds
Date: Sunday, May 8 | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Wanda Metropolitano – Madrid, Spain
Live stream: ESPN+
Odds: Atletico Madrid +106; Draw +245; Real Madrid +260 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Team news
Atletico Madrid: It will be a crucial match for the home team that need points to get their Champions League’s spot for next season. Simeone confirmed in the pre-match press conference that Atletico Madrid won’t do the guard of honor at the beginning of the match. This is a historical gesture of the Spanish clubs that usually do it after a team wins a trophy. However it won’t happen on Sunday night after the club decided to follow the desire of the fans who were against the idea of doing it and created a lot of noise in the Spanish media.
Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti’s team won La Liga last week and also the match against Manchester City that made them the UCL finalists against Liverpool. It’s likely that Ancelotti will make some changes for the clash against Atletico, with Ukrainian goalkeeper Andrij Lunin, who will start the match as confirmed by the Italian coach. Nacho and Jesus Vallejo should also start with Eduardo Camavinga also likely to be in the official lineup.
Prediction
Atletico Madrid have a different motivation for this match but Real Madrid won’t give up easily even if they just won the title and they are Champions League’s finalists. In the end, Atleti pull it off. Pick: Atletico 2, Real 1
