Even before Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League match in which Atlético Madrid (W1, D1, L1) lost an equalizer to Lazio goalie Ivan Provedel in the 95th minute, their recent games had been dramatic.
Before that, they destroyed Rayo Vallecano (7-0 win), only to follow it up with what Diego Simeone called their “weakest” performance of his lengthy career in a 3-0 defeat to Valencia. All three outcomes demonstrated the need for greater consistency if they were to contend for La Liga this season.
Real Madrid, one of the city’s rivals, will be the opponent in the 233rd Madrid derby (Atlético: W57, D60, L115), providing the hosts with their first home league head-to-head loss in nine attempts (D4, L3).
Los Rojiblancos have struggled with injuries this season, but the news that Memphis Depay, Koke, and Axel Witsel should all be eligible for selection this weekend gave them a much-needed lift.
Real were once again thankful to Jude Bellingham as they required his stoppage-time victory to defeat Union Berlin 1-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday due to injuries that had plagued the visitors in the early part of the season.
They waited until the very end to continue their unblemished start to 2023/24 in all competitions (W6), but this is starting to become a pattern as it was their third game in a row won by an Englishman goal after the 80th minute.
When the ball landed into Bellingham’s path for a tap-in, manager Carlo Ancelotti said that “the spirit of this jersey” let his players to “believe until the end,” although even he acknowledged that the strike had some element of luck about it.
Los Blancos have also won their past four La Liga away games, and they will hope to duplicate last season’s 2-1 victory here, which saw both goals scored in the opening period.
Marcos Llorente, who has scored in two of Atlético’s past four La Liga games, might be more motivated now since he began his professional career with Real Madrid.
Bellingham has never played against Atlético, yet this season, he has already scored six more goals than all of his teammates put together (five).
In their last 11 matches against Madrid-based teams, Atlético Madrid has averagely scored two goals per game.
