Rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet on Sunday in La Liga in a big-time showdown of two teams going in opposite directions. Los Blancos are coming off a 2-0 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League group stage and riding a wave of perfect form having won all eight games they played in this season, while Atleti’s 2-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen has them looking to restore momentum ahead of a tough stretch. They currently sit in seventh place, five points behind their crosstown rivals.
The leadup to the match has seen a brewing war of words where Atleti’s Koke took issue with the goal celebrations of Vinicius Junior, which led to a spiraling public back and forth and ultimately with Vini Jr. responding to racial abuse that was levelled at him as more and more people jumped into the spat.
Here’s are storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, Sept. 18 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio Wanda Metropolitano
- Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Atletico +195; Draw +245; Real +135 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Team news
Atletico: Jan Oblak, Atleti’s goalkeeper, is expected to be out due to injury, as are Stefan Savic and Jose Maria Gimenez. Sergio Reguilon has also dealt with a knock and seems unlikely to participate.
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Real: Karim Benzema is expected to miss the game due to injury, though the team is mostly healthy otherwise. His expected return from a hamstring injury is at the end of the month. Eder Militao is also dealing with a hamstring injury since Sept. 6.
Prediction
Antoine Griezmann comes off the bench and rescue a point for Los Colchoneros. Pick: Atletico 1, Real 1