Preview: Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid

Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Copa del Rey clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Eight days on from playing out an eight-goal extravaganza in the Supercopa de Espana, Madrid derby foes Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid reunite on Spanish soil for a Copa del Rey last-16 clash on Thursday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men triumphed 5-3 over their near neighbours en route to glory in Riyadh, and Los Blancos now resume the defence of another one of their hard-earned knockout crowns.

Match preview
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Bedlam reigned supreme when local foes Atletico and Real squared up to one another in last Wednesday’s Supercopa de Espana semi-final, where an extra 30 minutes were required to separate the two heavyweights following a six-goal spectacular in the opening 90.

The net would bulge on another two occasions in extra time, albeit at the wrong end of the pitch as far as Diego Simeone was concerned, as a Stefan Savic own goal and Brahim Diaz effort meant that Atletico’s Saudi Arabian sojourn was for nought.

Failure to emerge triumphant from the latest Madrid derby means that the Rojiblancos have now failed in each of their last three Supercopa de Espana ventures, but Simeone’s side can at least continue to dream of Copa del Rey glory, for the next 48 hours at least.

Before jetting off to the Middle East, Atletico made slightly hard work of a 3-1 beating of third-tier Lugos in the last 32 of Spain’s premier cup tournament – Memphis Depay was the hero with a second-half brace after both sides cancelled each other out in the opening period – and that win is just one of two for Atletico in their last six games during a woeful winter spell.

The hosts have also been knocked out of two of their most recent three Copa del Rey last-16 ties, the outlier being their quarter-final elimination in the 2022-23 edition, which came at the hands of – of course – Real Madrid.

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A few days after producing a five-star display against Atletico in their Supercopa semi-final, Real Madrid geared up for another derby of epic proportions to determine who would hoist the trophy into the Riyadh sky, but Barcelona did not put up much of a fight in El Clasico.

Twice Vinicius Junior tapped into an empty net after Real Madrid exposed Barca’s high line, and even though Robert Lewandowski reduced the arrears with a thunderous volley in the first half, Vinicius completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Rodrygo’s effort and Ronald Araujo’s dismissal killed the game as a contest.

Having carefully placed Supercopa title number 13 in the glass case, Real recommence the defence of their 2022-23 Copa del Rey honour, which – as was the case with Atletico – began with a 3-1 success away to lower-league opposition in the shape of Arandina.

Carlo Ancelotti’s free-scoring charges now have seven successive wins under their belt heading into the latest Madrid derby, and it has been 21 games since Los Blancos were last beaten in a competitive setting, although Simeone was the architect of that reverse for the men in white.

Indeed, Atletico emerged victorious by three goals to one when the two sides met in La Liga action in September, and Real have just one victory to show from their last five trips to the Metropolitano Stadium, where the home fans will hope that revenge is the dish of the day.

Atletico Madrid Copa del Rey form:

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

Real Madrid Copa del Rey form:

Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News
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Despite failing to travel home with winners’ medals around their necks, there were no more serious injury casualties on the Atletico flight back to Madrid, but Memphis Depay sat out the 5-3 loss with an adductor issue and should only make the bench at best here.

Left-back Reinildo will not be present either, having been summoned to compete with Mozambique at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Vitolo (ACL) and Thomas Lemar (Achilles) are long-term absentees for Los Rojiblancos.

Pablo Barrios will also need a once-over after missing Tuesday’s training session with an illness, but Saul Niguez should continue in the midfield triumvirate with Koke and Rodrigo de Paul either way.

As for their recent conquerors, Ancelotti should also be working with the same group of players from their successful Supercopa campaign, although Aurelien Tchouameni did not take part in team training on Tuesday as a precautionary measure.

At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that the Frenchman’s participation is in jeopardy, but Lucas Vazquez (thigh) is not so lucky and will miss out once more, as will Los Blancos’ trio of ACL victims in Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba.

Should Ancelotti opt against risking a delicate Tchouameni from the first whistle, his compatriot Eduardo Camavinga should be the number one pick to fill the void, and the Real boss has confirmed that Andriy Lunin will start in goal over Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Hermoso; Molina, De Paul, Koke, Saul, Lino; Morata, Griezmann

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Fernandez, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham; Joselu, Vinicius Jr

We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Madrid
While Atletico’s overall form recently is nothing to write home about, Los Rojiblancos are on a remarkable 25-game unbeaten run at the Metropolitano Stadium – winning 11 of their last 12 at a ground where they have not lost in over a year.

With Simeone’s side also enjoying a longer recuperation period from their Middle Eastern endeavours, a jet-lagged Real will have their work cut out this time around and could very well see their Copa del Rey defence crash and burn against their vengeful rivals.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data

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