Real Madrid will today welcome Athletico Madrid to the Bernabeau in the Madrid derby. Athletico Madrid have been in the shadows of their illustrious neighbour Real Madrid. The last time Athletico won the league was in 1996.Madrid have been more successful, winning the league 30 times and also conquering Europe nine times, while Athletico has won the league nine times in addition to the Europa Cup they won last season. On head-to-head record,
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Real Madrid has 85 wins to Athletico’s 35 with 31 draws.
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Real Madrid have been setting the standard in the league this season. Last weekend, they won arguably their toughest match of the season away at the Mestella, when they defeated third placed Valencia 3-2, with goals from Benzema, Ramos and Ronaldo. Their win against Valencia was their eight straight victory in the league which saw them maintain their three point lead over Barcelona. Last season, Madrid defeated Athletico in their matches both home and away. After the game against Valencia last weekend, Real Madrid defender, Sergio Ramos, said he believes Real Madrid has taken a big step forward towards winning the league. “We have taken a big step forward. I am very pleased with the win and the goals we scored; for me, it is a very sweet moment, both personally and in football terms,” Ramos said.
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Atheletico Madrid will be looking to break their jinx over Madrid tonight at the Bernabeau. The last time Athletico defeated Madrid was in 2000 when they won 3-1 in the Bernabeau. During the summer, they lost two of their talismen, Sergio Aguero, who signed for Man City and Diego Forlan, who moved to Inter Milan.
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However, Athletico signed Radamel Falcao from Porto as a replacement. He has eight goals so far to his credit this season and he is facing a race against time to be fit for today’s encounter. Last week, Athletico defeated Levante 3-2 at the Vicente Calderon, making it their fourth victory of the season.
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Meanwhile, Barcelona will travel to the capital to face another Madrid based club, Getafe, hoping to secure all three points to keep pace with their rivals Madrid. Last week, Barcelona won 4-0 at home to Real Zaragoza with goals from Pique, Puyol, Messi and Villa. Barcelona have stumbled on away games this season, drawing three away games to Real Sociedad, Valencia and Athletico Bilbao. The Catalans will be hoping to avoid another potential banana peel fall when they face a Getafe side that are 15th in the league log table, just one point off the relegation zone.