All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo once again as Real Madrid make the short trip across the city to take on Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Gameweek 7 of La Liga. Ronaldo will break Raul’s club record of 323 goals if he scores and become Real Madrid’s all time top goal-scorer.
Real have started the season well and are unbeaten in the league so far. New boss Rafael Benitez however, knows that form goes out of the window when it comes to derbies. “It is going to be a game where there is a lot of passion and personality shown on the pitch and whether or not it opens up is down to tactical details. They will be organised and play with intensity and that is their virtue,” said Benitez. Real will be boosted by the return of Gareth Bale and skipper Sergio Ramos, who have shrugged off their injuries and could have important roles to play. If other results go their way, Los Blancos could go top of the table with a win.
Atletico Madrid will be hoping to bounce back after back to back defeats against Villareal and Benfica. Despite being just one place below their city rivals, Atletico have looked far from convincing. They are over-reliant on Antoine Griezmann as new signing Jackson Martinez is yet to fire on all cylinders. Koke’s absence from this fixture could also hurt them as he is their creator in chief. Atletico did get the better of Real in the Spanish Supercopa, the Copa del Rey and the La Liga last season so they will be hoping to claim bragging rights again.
Fernando Torres is set to make his 200th appearance for Los Rojiblancos and is just two goals away from scoring a century of goals.
These two teams have contested some fierce battles in recent years and that looks set to continue. Atletico will hope a win against their illustrious neighbours can kick-start their season while Real will aim to capitalise on Barcelona’s loss to Sevilla. Expect fireworks, on and off the pitch.
Comments
SHARE