Is a interwar derby for Madrid, the one that has already won here and the one that awaits him in Paris, and total war for Atlético, because of this and the other three games that remain (Elche, Sevilla and Real Sociedad) it depends what is going to be morning (follow the match live on AS.com). Madrid will miss the corridor (courtesy or humiliation, depending on who explains it), the drama and some headlines. Atlético will have plenty of their latest performances and the state of need. Twenty points separate themthat stuck in the heat of a derby come to nothing.
Much of the question is how many main players Ancelotti, who has prepared the game with a single training session, will forgive himself. Managing the weeks leading up to a Champions League final with no other goal than that is never easy. There are drawbacks to overloading holders and also keeping them more inactive than necessary. Whatever the Italian does, Madrid will be competitive because they have found a bench where there seemed to be none. On Wednesday he completed his miracle against City with Camavinga, Valverde and Ceballos in the middle and without his holy trinity (Kroos, Casemiro and Modric). Today Ceballos is one of the six casualties of the team. Isco, Alaba, Bale, Hazard and Marcelo will also be missing. The only insurance is Lunin, announced by Ancelotti. Until now he had only played in the Cup against Alcoyano and Elche.
Lunin, in training this Saturday in Valdebebas.
realmadrid.com
Camavinga has played eight of the last nine games with remarkable success. In fact, he is already close to ownership. He will be accompanied by Valverde and one of the three untouchables to be determined in midfield. Asensio and Rodrygo, multi-hero of this Champions League, are also expected. The load of energy of the youngsters allowed Madrid to easily beat Osasuna and Espanyol when they were not yet champions.
a new attack
For diametrically opposite reasons, many of Atlético’s stars will also be left out of the eleven. Nothing has turned out for the champion as he expected. João Félix and Lemar will probably not return for the rest of the season and the two presumed scorers of the team have walked well below their possibilities.
Griezmann scored in the five years of his first stage at Atlético 25, 31, 26, 29 and 20 goals and in his two years at Barça, less productive, 15 and 19. This season he has eight. Luis Suárez, who scored 21 goals last season and was the key player in winning the title, has also gone less: only 13 in this one. In any case, his average number of goals per game has not fallen too much (one every 142′ in 20-21, one every 170′ in 21-22). Both the French and the Uruguayan point to the bench today to make way for the two attackers who have played less but have worked better: Cunha, much appreciated by the crowd, and Correa, the team’s second scorer (12 goals) and the footballer with the highest performance in the squad, according to data from the Olocip artificial intelligence.
Oblak, during his last training session with Atlético.
Atletico Madrid
That same indicator places Oblak in the queue. And the rest of the accompanying data places the Slovenian in the eye of the hurricane. Atletico have been shot less than a year ago (9.2 times per game compared to 9.5) and yet, with four games to go, they have scored 16 more goals. In reality, almost all records are close to those of the champion team, except for the number of goals conceded. In Simeone’s eight full seasons at the helm of the team, Atlético had never conceded more than 31 goals. He now he has ten more. Another surprising indicator is that Llorente, author of 13 goals last year, has not yet been released. Simeone recovers Savic today, having completed his sanction, and Reinildo, acquitted by Appeal. All the signs point to a defense of four and a return to eleven De Paul and Koke.
Ancelotti and Simeone, old acquaintances
In it crossing streaks lose a lot Atlético, who have only won one of their last six games. Meanwhile, the Madrid has won everything in the League after 0-4 in the Clásico. For Ancelotti it will be a family duel. In the two years of his previous stage at Madrid he played thirteen games against Atlético. He saw himself in a Champions League final and in a few quarters, in two Copa del Rey qualifiers, in a Spanish Super Cup and in four League games. Of the latter, he did not win any. Their first win in the competition came in the first leg of this league. Atlético was also measured directing Chelsea and Bayern.
To the other side, Simeone put an end to those more than ten years without Atlético winning a derby (that banner still stings about the search for a worthy rival), but now he has eight consecutive without beating Madrid, who is undefeated in his four visits to the Wanda Metropolitano. Today we will see if the state of need or happiness weighs more and if anxiolytics or cava feel better for the body.