Real Madrid bracing for red-hot Atletico in derby
Despite sitting at the top of LaLiga, reigning champion Real Madrid may feel like it has a lot to prove when it hosts Atletico Madrid on Sunday (AEDT).
Los Blancos' in-form city rival, meanwhile, will be eager to seize the momentum in the title race and leapfrog Carlo Ancelotti's team into top spot.
Madrid has failed to beat any of its top-four rivals this season and heads into the derby searching for a statement victory to silence some of the doubters.
It will be the first of two massive challenges facing Ancelotti and his charges in the coming days, with Madrid travelling to England next week for the first leg of a UEFA Champions League play-off tie with Manchester City.
Beating Atletico could be a turning point for Madrid, which has been under scrutiny for inconsistent form as it seeks to defend its titles at home and in Europe.
Defeats to AC Milan and Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League hurt, but Madrid was more severely exposed in two thrashings handed out by LaLiga rival Barcelona.
A 4-0 loss at home in the league and a 5-1 demolition in the Supercopa de Espana raised questions as to whether Madrid had what is required to retain its crowns.
Atletico has been in imperious form, winning 19 of its past 21 games in all competitions.
Sterling performances from Antoine Griezmann, Julian Alvarez and Rodrigo De Paul have earned Atletico big wins at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, while Diego Simeone's side has arguably been playing some of the best football of any side in Europe over the past few months.
It will also have recent history on its side when it steps on to the Santiago Bernabeu pitch.
Madrid has won only one of its past six capital derbies, a 5-3 extra-time victory in last year's Supercopa de Espana in Saudi Arabia.
Atletico also handed Madrid its only two defeats of a near-perfect 2023-2024 season.
The reverse fixture this term finished 1-1.
A win at Santiago Bernabeu would give Atletico the advantage in the table at a crucial stage of the campaign, and Madrid goes into the contest having to grapple with an injury crisis.
Already missing both defensive stalwart Dani Carvajal and Brazil centre-back Eder Militao for the season with torn anterior cruciate ligaments, Ancelotti then lost Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba with leg muscle injuries over recent days.
The Italian coach gave 20-year-old Jacobo Ramon his first senior start alongside fellow academy graduate Raul Asencio in Madrid's 3-2 Copa del Rey win at Leganes on Thursday (AEDT), but Ancelotti has tended to use midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni at centre-back to cover for his injured stars.
Ancelotti has only won 35 per cent of his matches as Madrid coach against Atleti in all competitions; only against Manchester City (17 per cent) has he posted a lower winning percentage among all his rivals faced at least five times with Los Blancos.
However, Simeone has lost nine of his 25 meetings with Ancelotti in all competitions. Against no other coach has he suffered more defeats in his career.
Lurking in third place is Barcelona, three points behind Atletico and on a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
It travels to 12th-placed Sevilla on Monday (AEDT) hoping for a stalemate in Madrid so it can close the gap that has opened up since it led LaLiga in the early stages of the season.
