{"id":4690,"date":"2026-09-19T14:31:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T14:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4690"},"modified":"2026-09-19T14:31:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T14:31:05","slug":"atletico-madrid-vs-real-madrid-la-liga-preview-team-news-prediction-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4690","title":{"rendered":"Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid: La Liga \u2013 preview, team news, prediction | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 39 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>


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Who:<\/strong> Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
What:\u00a0<\/strong>La Liga
Where:\u00a0<\/strong>Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain
When:\u00a0<\/strong>Sunday, September 20, at 4:15pm (14:15 GMT)
How to follow:<\/strong>\u00a0Al Jazeera Sport<\/a> will bring you all the build-up from 11:15 GMT before our live text commentary stream<\/p>\n

Atletico host bitter city rivals Real for the Madrid derby as both sides look to keep up with early La Liga pacesetters Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Madrid trail unbeaten champions Barcelona at the top of the table by three points, with Atletico third.<\/p>\n

Atletico have bounced back from back-to-back defeats to Bilbao and Liverpool earlier in September, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 and Osasuna 4-0 in their last two games.<\/p>\n

Real come into the game in decent form under boss Jose Mourinho but have had wobbles this month, with a defeat to Betis and scoring late to beat bottom club Elche after squandering a two-goal lead.<\/p>\n

Improving Atletico cruise to win over Osasuna<\/h2>\n

Atletico Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 on Wednesday to build some form in the run-up to Sunday\u2019s derby clash against rivals Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

Jonathan David, Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand and Alex Baena\u2019s goals helped Diego Simeone\u2019s side cruise to a comfortable home victory.<\/p>\n

They were without injured striker Julian Alvarez, but it did not matter after they secured a second straight win to cut the gap on top two Barcelona and Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

The comfortable victory was important for an Atletico side with lots of new faces still bedding in, after two defeats in their three matches prior.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe controlled it in the first half even though we weren\u2019t clinical,\u201d said coach Diego Simeone. \u201cWe were clinical in the second half and controlled the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Atletico
Atletico Madrid\u2019s Alex Baena runs with the ball during the win over Osasuna at the Metropolitano Stadium [Oscar del Pozo\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mourinho rues lack of game control<\/h2>\n

Real \u200cMadrid squandered a two-goal lead before substitute Carlos Espi struck in stoppage time to \u2060secure a dramatic 3-2 \u2060victory at Elche in La Liga on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Real went 2-0 up inside 33 minutes through a Matias Dituro own goal and Kylian Mbappe, but second-half strikes from Abiel \u2060Osorio and Fer Nino hauled Elche level before Espi restored the visitors\u2019 lead in the 91st minute.<\/p>\n

It was the second time in \u2060six league matches that the 21-year-old Espi had come off the bench to score a late winner, although Mourinho remained concerned by Real\u2019s failure to control the second half in advance of Sunday\u2019s derby against Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem seems obvious to me. It\u2019s harder to know why, but it\u2019s easy to understand that there are matches that seem over and, in the end, aren\u2019t,\u201d said Mourinho.<\/p>\n

\u201c[There are] matches where we have three, four, five chances to finish them and don\u2019t,\u201d he said at the pre-match news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter failing to do so, it feels like we go from ease, because it seemed easy, to losing control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mourinho said his team\u2019s defensive issues were of concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot just for Sunday\u2019s match, but for every match. I like my team to score goals \u2026 but I also like controlling matches,\u201d explained Mourinho.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like gifting control. It\u2019s not about the goals, it\u2019s about giving away control of the match.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Real
Mourinho\u2019s side gave him a fright during their win over Elche [Alberto Saiz\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prediction<\/h2>\n

The Opta supercomputer has made Real Madrid the favourites, with a win probability of 46.6 percent. Atletico were given a 28.3 percent chance of winning, while a draw was estimated at a 25.1 percent likelihood.<\/p>\n

Head-to-head<\/h2>\n

The rivals have faced each other on 243 occasions; Real Madrid won 125 games, Atletico won 60, while 58 matches ended as draws.<\/p>\n

Last five encounters:<\/strong><\/p>\n