Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid: La Liga – preview, team news, prediction

Who: Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
What: La Liga
Where: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain
When: Sunday, September 20, astatine 4:15pm (14:15 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport volition bring you each the build-up from 11:15 GMT earlier our unrecorded substance commentary stream

Atletico big bitter metropolis rivals Real for the Madrid derby arsenic some sides look to support up with aboriginal La Liga pacesetters Barcelona.

Madrid way unbeaten champions Barcelona astatine the apical of the array by 3 points, with Atletico third.

Atletico person bounced backmost from back-to-back defeats to Bilbao and Liverpool earlier successful September, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 and Osasuna 4-0 successful their past 2 games.

Real travel into the crippled successful decent signifier nether brag Jose Mourinho but person had wobbles this month, with a decision to Betis and scoring precocious to bushed bottommost nine Elche aft squandering a two-goal lead.

Improving Atletico cruise to triumph implicit Osasuna

Atletico Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 connected Wednesday to physique immoderate signifier successful the run-up to Sunday’s derby clash against rivals Real Madrid.

Jonathan David, Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand and Alex Baena’s goals helped Diego Simeone’s broadside cruise to a comfy location victory.

They were without injured striker Julian Alvarez, but it did not substance aft they secured a 2nd consecutive triumph to chopped the spread connected apical 2 Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The comfy triumph was important for an Atletico broadside with tons of caller faces inactive bedding in, aft 2 defeats successful their 3 matches prior.

“We controlled it successful the archetypal fractional adjacent though we weren’t clinical,” said manager Diego Simeone. “We were objective successful the 2nd fractional and controlled the game.”

Atletico Madrid’s Alex Baena runs with the shot during the triumph implicit Osasuna astatine the Metropolitano Stadium [Oscar del Pozo/AFP]

Mourinho rues deficiency of crippled control

Real ‌Madrid squandered a two-goal pb earlier substitute Carlos Espi struck successful stoppage clip to ⁠secure a melodramatic 3-2 ⁠victory astatine Elche successful La Liga connected Tuesday.

Real went 2-0 up wrong 33 minutes done a Matias Dituro ain extremity and Kylian Mbappe, but second-half strikes from Abiel ⁠Osorio and Fer Nino hauled Elche level earlier Espi restored the visitors’ pb successful the 91st minute.

It was the 2nd clip successful ⁠six league matches that the 21-year-old Espi had travel disconnected the seat to people a precocious winner, though Mourinho remained acrophobic by Real’s nonaccomplishment to power the 2nd fractional successful beforehand of Sunday’s derby against Atletico Madrid.

“The occupation seems evident to me. It’s harder to cognize why, but it’s casual to recognize that determination are matches that look implicit and, successful the end, aren’t,” said Mourinho.

“[There are] matches wherever we person three, four, 5 chances to decorativeness them and don’t,” helium said astatine the pre-match quality conference.

“After failing to bash so, it feels similar we spell from ease, due to the fact that it seemed easy, to losing control.”

Mourinho said his team’s antiaircraft issues were of concern.

“Not conscionable for Sunday’s match, but for each match. I similar my squad to people goals … but I besides similar controlling matches,” explained Mourinho.

“I don’t similar gifting control. It’s not astir the goals, it’s astir giving distant power of the match.”

Mourinho’s broadside gave him a fright during their triumph implicit Elche [Alberto Saiz/AP Photo]

Prediction

The Opta supercomputer has made Real Madrid the favourites, with a triumph probability of 46.6 percent. Atletico were fixed a 28.3 percent accidental of winning, portion a gully was estimated astatine a 25.1 percent likelihood.

Head-to-head

The rivals person faced each different connected 243 occasions; Real Madrid won 125 games, Atletico won 60, portion 58 matches ended arsenic draws.

Last 5 encounters:

• March 22, 2026: Real Madrid 3-2 Atletico (La Liga)
• January 8, 2026: Atletico 1-2 Real Madrid (Spanish Super Cup semifinal)
• September 27, 2025: Atletico 5-2 Real Madrid (La Liga)
• March 12, 2025: Atletico 1-0 Real Madrid (Champions League past 16, 2nd leg)
• March 4, 2025: Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico (Champions League past 16, archetypal leg)

What happened the past clip the 2 clubs played each other?

Vinicius Jr scored ⁠twice ⁠as Real Madrid fought backmost to beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 astatine the Santiago Bernabeu successful ⁠a breathless Spanish superior derby successful March.

Atletico’s Ademola Lookman opened the scoring successful the 33rd minute, finishing a slick ‌counterattack involving Matteo Ruggeri and a delightful back-heel from Giuliano Simeone.

Vinicius equalised from the punishment spot successful the 52nd minute, aft David Hancko clumsily tripped Brahim Diaz, and Federico ⁠Valverde capitalised connected a ⁠Jose Maria Gimenez mistake 3 minutes aboriginal to marque it 2-1 to Real.

Nahuel Molina silenced Real’s ⁠Bernabeu stadium with a thunderous 30-metre onslaught successful ⁠the 66th minute, but ⁠Vinicius restored Real’s pb with a cracking solo effort six minutes later.

Vinicius Jr celebrates scoring his team’s victor [Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images]

What happened successful the corresponding fixture past season?

Julian Alvarez scored doubly arsenic Atletico Madrid came from down to thrash metropolis rivals Real Madrid 5-2 successful a pulsating derby successful September 2025.

Atletico’s assertive commencement paid disconnected erstwhile Robin Le Normand opened the scoring with a header successful the 14th minute.

However, Kylian Mbappe burst done to level with an unstoppable onslaught from adjacent scope successful a speedy antagonistic successful the 25th minute, with Arda Guler netting a volley from a Vinicius Jr transverse 11 minutes aboriginal to enactment the visitors successful front.

Alexander Sorloth’s header successful added clip earlier the interruption gave Atletico a boost, and they regained the pb 5 minutes into the 2nd fractional erstwhile Alvarez converted a punishment aft Guler’s precocious footwear clipped Nico Gonzalez connected the look wrong the box.

After Alvarez extended their pb successful the 64th infinitesimal with a sublime escaped footwear into the apical corner, substitute Antoine Griezmann sealed the triumph successful a speedy antagonistic successful added time.

Alvarez scores Atletico’s 3rd from the spot [Angel Martinez/Getty Images]

Atletico Madrid’s squad news

Alvarez, Pablo Barrios, and Sorloth are doubts, arsenic each 3 are struggling with musculus issues.

Jonathan David is apt to proceed up beforehand if Alvarez is absent oregon starts connected the bench.

Predicted starting XI:

Oblak (goalkeeper); Llorente, Romero, Le Normand, Grimaldo; Lee, Koke, Cardoso, Baena; David, Lookman

Real Madrid’s squad news

Eder Militao, Rodrygo, and Ferland Mendy are unavailable owed to injuries, but different Mourinho appears to person a afloat squad to take from.

Predicted starting XI:

Courtois (goalkeeper); Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Tchouameni; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe