La Liga: Top Spot Awaits the Madrid Victors

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

It’s one of the biggest dates in the football calendar and certainly in La Liga, and the Madrid Derby this Saturday has a whole lot more riding on it than a week ago.  

When Carlo Ancelotti’s Blancos meet Diego Simeone’s Rojiblancos, the winners will finish on the top of the Primera Division and, if the game ends in a draw, Real will stay one point ahead of their city rivals. And there will be plenty of fans and players in Catalonia watching the La Liga 2025 updates on Saturday. Barcelona, currently four points behind the leaders, face Sevilla on Sunday, and they would love nothing more than a draw in Madrid.

The title race was blown wide open again last week as Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Espanyol, while Atletico were beating Real Mallorca to narrow the gap to one. Both teams were in midweek Copa del Rey action, and while Los Rojibancos gave Getafe a 5-0 thumping, Los Blancos laboured to a 3-2 win over Leganes.   

Talking Points

Atleti laugh at Real’s complaints

If ever this game needed more spice, the social media guys at the Wanda Metropolitano have been having their fun this week, mocking Real Madrid for their perceived tactics of trying to influence the officials. Los Blancos have gained a reputation for complaining abut refereeing decisions and applying pressure to match officials and the authorities, frequently using their own TV channel and, after defeat to lowly Espanyol, the club called for “a total renewal of the refereeing system.”

It looked like Los Blancos were being held to a frustrating 0-0 draw until Espanyol’s Carlos Romero scored an 85^th-minute winner for the hosts to lift them out of the relegation zone. Real were angry because they feel Romero should have been red carded for an earlier tackle on Kylian Mbappe, but the referee awarded a yellow and the defender stayed on the pitch to win the game.

Romero actually asked for forgiveness after the game for his “ugly tackle,” but I suspect he had a smile on his face. And the Atletico media team were giggling too as they posted “basic instructions for the derby” on their social media which included “Using your official TV channel again to press referees”. Cheeky.   

Team news for Real and Atleti

Mbappe will be at the head of Los Blancos’ attack again alongside the Brazilian duo of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, who was the subject of transfer speculation last week. Mbappe has 15 goals from 20 games this season, and the return to form of Jude Bellingham, who has scored seven goals and made six assists from his position just behind the front three, has been a big plus to Los Blancos’ attack. Veteran midfielder Luka Modric played in the cup win over Leganes, but Dani Ceballos is likely to step back in for the derby.  

Real Madrid have a frightening attack when they are on song, but they can be broken down and have conceded 10 goals in their last 10 games in all competitions while failing to pick up a clean sheet in four of their last five games, and they will face a front three with plenty of firepower.    

Los Rojiblancos have been sharing the goals around between Alexander Sorloth and Antoine Griezmann, who have scored eight each in the league, and the quickly improving Julian Alvarez, who has six. Sorloth started on the bench for the cup clash with Getafe, but he made a late appearance to score the fifth. Griezmann has always been a class act with plenty of confidence, and this is rubbing off on his two strike partners.

Midfielder Pablo Barrios has recovered from a muscle injury and is set for a return while, at the back, Simeone’s new centre-back pairing of Clement Lenglet and Robin Le Normand, loaned from Barcelona and signed from Real Sociedad, are carrying on the best traditions of an Atletico rearguard, conceding a miserly 14 goals in the league. But Le Normand misses out due to his accumulation of yellow cards, and Jose Gimenez is set to step in.         

History

With 40 wins to 15, Los Blancos have dominated the head-to-head meetings and have not lost at home to Atleti on the last 10 occasions. With a home record of nine victories and one defeat, Ancelotti’s men have made the Santiago Bernabeu a rarely breached fortress.

But if anyone can break it down, then Atletico would be high on the list. They come into the game on a five-match unbeaten run, winning four of the last six, while Real have won five from six.  

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP La Liga 2025 betting odds will be watching this clash closely, and a win for either team will see a shift for sure. The last two meetings have ended in a 1-1 draw, and that is the most likely outcome again on Saturday at a price of 6.47. It wouldn’t be a disaster for either club, but a stalemate in Madrid would suit Barcelona just fine. 

 

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