Real Madrid Vs. Atletico Madrid Prediction: El Derbi Madrile Badrio In The Round Of 16 Of The Champions League

Camavinga and Vinicius Junior, two important Real Madrid players (photo: x @realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will face each other in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 at the Santiago Bernabeu, Tuesday, March 5 local time, or Wednesday morning WIB. This duel promises a hot atmosphere given the long rivalry between the two teams in domestic and European competitions.

As the defending champion of the Champions League, Real Madrid must go through a winding road to reach the knockout stages. Los Blancos finished sixth in the league phase this season, so they had to play the playoffs against the 2023 champion, Manchester City.

However, Carlo Ancelotti's experience is again the key to their success. After a dramatic 3-2 win at the Etihad, Real Madrid confirmed a ticket to the last 16 with a 3-1 win at the Bernabeu, thanks to Kylian Mbappe's hat trick.

Currently, Madrid are also enjoying a positive trend in European competitions with an unbeaten record in the last nine knockout matches. However, in the last La Liga match, they surprisingly lost 1-2 to Real Betis, a result that stopped their seven-match unbeaten streak.

Atletico Madrid Ambitious To Revenge

Atletico Madrid has a bitter history of facing Real Madrid in European competitions. They have been defeated in the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals by their city rivals. However, this season they performed convincingly in the league phase, the Champions League, finishing fifth thanks to five consecutive wins.

In La Liga's last match, Atletico won a narrow 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao through Julian Alvarez's goal. Even so, they were lucky because Bilbao hit the crossbar three times in that match. With this result, Atletico had climbed to the top of the standings before being moved back by Barcelona.

One note that Diego Simeone's men must improve is their away performance in the knockout phase of the Champions League. In the last three away games in the knockout stages of last season, they have always lost, which is the worst record since 1971. In addition, Atletico have never beaten Real Madrid in five previous Champions League knockout meetings.

Real Madrid harus bermain tanpa Jude Bellingham yang menjalani larangan bermain akibat akumulasi kartu kuning. Selain itu, mereka juga kehilangan beberapa pemain karena cedera, termasuk Eder Militao (lutut), Dani Carvajal (lutut), Dani Ceballos (hamstring), dan Jesus Vallejo (hamstring).

However, good news comes from Federico Valverde who has recovered from a minor injury and is ready to play. Ancelotti will most likely place Valverde as right-back replacing Lucas Vazquez, while Raul Asencio has the potential to return to being a starter on the back.

In the Atletico Madrid camp, they had to play without Cesar Azpilicueta (leg injury) and Koke ( thigh injury). However, the rest Simeone has a complete squad for this match. Julian Alvarez, who performed impressively in La Liga, has the opportunity to start in the front line replacing Alexander Sorloth.

Real Madrid have a very strong home record in the Champions League, and with Kylian Mbappe's presence on the front lines, they remain favorites to win. However, Atletico Madrid are known for their solid defense under Simeone, who can make this match run tight.

Estimated Lineup Of Players

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1):Courtois; Valverde, Rudiger, Asencio, Mendy; Tchouameni, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Diaz, Vinicius; Mbappe

Atletico Madrid (4-4-2):Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Gimenez, Galan; Llorente, De Paul, Barrios, Lino; Griezmann, Alvarez

Score prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid