Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid: Preview, predictions and lineups

Two familiar foes collide in the Champions League round of 16 as Real Madrid host the first leg of their tie with capital rivals Atletico.

The pair faced off only recently in a significant bout at the top of La Liga. Julian Alvarez handed Atleti a first half lead from the penalty spot before the red-hot Kylian Mbappe restored parity early in the second half. However, the Madrid rivals are currently trailing Barcelona in the title race.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side overcame Manchester City to advance into the last 16 following an underwhelming league phase, while Atleti enjoyed a productive start to the competition and qualified for this phase automatically.

The visitors enter the first leg off the back of an important 1-0 home win over top four hopefuls Athletic Club, and they’ll be looking to take advantage of a Madrid team that lost 2-1 away at Real Betis on Saturday. The hosts have won just one of their previous five La Liga games.

Here is 90min’s guide to Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 first leg.

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

While Jude Bellingham is once again available for domestic selection after serving a two-game ban, the Englishman is suspended for Tuesday’s first leg due to yellow card accumulation in this competition. Brahim Diaz will likely continue on the right side of midfield.

Federico Valverde has been dealing with a minor hamstring issue but is expected to return to Ancelotti’s XI here, and he may well replace Lucas Vazquez at right-back.

Raul Asencio is set to replace David Alaba and partner Antonio Rudiger at centre-back, while Jesus Vallejo, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, and Dani Ceballos are all out of action.

Real Madrid predicted lineup vs Atletico (4-4-2): Courtois; Valverde, rudigger, sencio, mendy; Brahim, tchouameni, Camaving, Rodrygo; viniicus, mbappe.

Atletico’s two injury concerns revolve around two veterans, Cesar Azpilicueta and stalwart midfielder Koke.

Neither player is expected to feature on Tuesday.

Julian Alvarez was the match-winner in The League at the weekend after appearing off the bench. He’ll replace Alexander Sorloth in the starting XI at the Bernabeu. Jose Gimenez and Marcos Llorente should also come into Simeone’s lineup.

Atletico predicted lineup vs Real Madrid (4-4-2): Oblak; Lorent, Givens, Norman, Galan; Simeone, Paul, Barrios, French; Alvarez, Griezmann.

Madrid rallied after falling behind in the recent head-to-head match-up, and while Ancelotti’s side are doubtlessly fallible, we shouldn’t read too much into their La Liga malaise. They always turn it on when it matters most in this competition, but they will miss the running power and box-crashing abilities of Bellingham on Tuesday night.

We know that the visitors will cede territory and control before springing in transition, and they should have success against a Madrid team with distinct structural issues without the ball.

However, given that this is a big European night at the Bernabeu, it’s hard to look past the hosts heading into the second leg with an advantage.

Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid

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