Saturday’s Madrid derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid can determine who is in the drivers seat in the league, since the two teams are separated by one point atop La Liga, but it may be the second most important game to Los Blancos in the coming week. With a Champions League knockout stage match coming up Tuesday against Manchester City, there are plenty of reasons for Carlo Ancelotti to focus on that match while rotating a bit heading into Champions League play.
It would be unfortunate to lose control of the title race in La Liga with a loss, but with the match taking place at the Santiago Bernabeu, there is a higher chance to eke out a draw or even take all three points while rotating. Balance is key and Real Madrid are a team that expects to not only be in the last 16 of the Champions League, but do it while also competing on other fronts. So far they’ve been able to maintain that level, but Ancelotti has needed to dig deeper into his squad depth that ever expected due to their current injury crisis.
David Alaba, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao are out with injuries and Antonio Rudiger will likely miss out with a hamstring injury. Los Blancos entered the season with depth concerns at center back and now they’re thinner than ever. Academy graduate Raul Asencio and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni are now the starting central defenders and even Fede Valverde has had to fill in at right back.
While players can get injured at any time, increasing the match load by a significant margin can lead to more injuries that Ancelotti can’t afford. Facing an Atletico side without looming midweek soccer over their heads and it’s an odd balance for the Los Blancos heading into things.
“It’s a very important match for two teams fighting to win the league. The (Madrid) derby is a special match, as always. Atlético are strong and it’ll be an even match. There is nothing new in the run-up to the game. The opposition have all the quality they need to fight for this competition, just like us,” Ancelotti said during his press match press conference.
“We had some doubts regarding the line-up that have been resolved today with the issue of Lucas and Camavinga. I’m going to field a line-up where I can combine quality and collective commitment. The two things are what lead to success during the season and the trick is to combine them. This season we’ve had more quality than commitment and we’re working to equal that.”
From the sounds of his press conference, Ancelotti knows that he can’t play everyone who he may want to in this derby match but then what would lineups look like for both teams while keeping Manchester CIty in mind?
Predicted lineups
Real Madrid: Thiabut Courtois, Francisco Garcia, Raul Asencio, Aurelien Tchouameni, Lucas Vazquez, Luka Modric, Dani Cebellow, Jude Bellingham, Vinicus Junior, Brahim Diaz, Kylian Mbappe
Atletico Madrid: Jan Oblak, Javi Galan, Clement Lenglet, Jose Giminez, Nahuel Molina, Conor Gallagher, Pablo Barrios, Rodrigo De Paul, Giuliano Simione, Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann
In defense, there aren’t many choices that Ancelloti can make while still fielding a team that can compete with Atletico Madrid but he does have options in attack. Valverde has been so important for the team plugging in wherever he’s needed but with how much ground he’ll need to cover against City, rest will be needed after playing right back during the Copa Del Rey. Midfield is somewhere that there is depth and in attack, Ancelotti can almost do a line change making multiple substitutes at once if needed. In a derby game he’ll need to name a strong side but looking forward is also critical.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 8 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu — xMadrid, SPain
- Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Real Madrid -110; Draw +270; Atletico Madrid +280
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