Real Madrid heads to the Metropolitano on Sunday, needing three points to keep pace with Barcelona. The Chamartin club will have to sharpen its finishing if it wants to avoid a surprise at the hands of the Colchoneros.
Real Madrid visits Atletico de Madrid this Sunday in a new edition of the Madrid derby corresponding to matchday 7 of LaLiga. The Merengues will attend the Metropolitano with the clear mission of taking the three points in the bag if they wish to continue maintaining clear opportunities to take the championship next summer. With the quality of players the Chamartin club has, they cannot afford the luxury of letting points slip away.
Injuries and doubts for the match:
Real Madrid: Eder Militao (muscle), Rodrygo (knee) and Ferland Mendy (hip).
Atletico Madrid: Pablo Barrios (muscle) and Alexander Sorloth (muscle).
Real Madrid's possible lineup (4-2-3-1)
GK: Thibaut Courtois - Despite being the team's reliable goalkeeper for many years, during this season he has had a hard time keeping a clean sheet, and this match will not be an exception. It will depend on his defenders being in good form.
RB: Denzel Dumfries - He is very likely to start instead of Trent Alexander-Arnold; his physique gives him an advantage over the Englishman, as well as his physical power to cover meters whenever necessary.
CB: Ibrahima Konate - He has excellent physical power, which favors him when stealing aerial or ground balls.
CB: Dean Huijsen - He has excellent vision of the game, he makes precise passes from the defensive zone to the forwards, which can be taken advantage of thanks to the speed of Vinicius Jr. or Mbappe.
LB: Marc Cucurella - He is becoming a good partner for Vinicius Jr. since he has a lot of craft on the left flank, he goes up when attacking and comes down fast enough to defend.
MC: Federico Valverde - His presence in midfield is of utmost importance for the team. He keeps Madrid's backbone firm, and his starting role in practically all of the season's matches proves it.
MC: Aurelien Tchouameni - He returned to the starting lineup midweek at the Martinez Valero, which could mean he will again be a duo with Valverde this Sunday.
MC: Arda Guler - His presence gives the team agility. He has already amazed the fans with the few matches so far this season.
RW: Jude Bellingham - Jose Mourinho saved him from the start in the last match so that he would arrive rested for the derby. We could be seeing him on the right wing to complete the offensive trident.
ST: Kylian Mbappe - After a somewhat controversial week for him and other players, the Frenchman wants to again show why he is the best forward in the world and leave behind what happened in Elche.
LW: Vinicius Jr. - Still without showing a great level, the Brazilian wants to rediscover his best form, and what better than in a match as important and decisive as the Madrid derby.
Atletico Madrid's possible lineup (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak
Defenders: David Hancko, Cristian Romero, Marc Pubill
Midfielders: Alejandro Grimaldo, Morten Hjulmand, Marcos Llorente, Giuliano Simeone
Forwards: Alex Baena, Julian Alvarez, Kang-in Lee
