Features
FRI 06.02.2015
The Vicente Calderón is the venue for this Saturday's much anticipated Liga BBVA matchday 22 meeting between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid CF. The rojiblancos, who have yet to be beaten by Carlo Ancelotti's players this season, will be looking to keep things on track in order to narrow the gap on their cross-city rivals. Los blancos will be aiming to put an end to their disappointing run of form against Atleti by once again recording a triumph in the Manzanares stadium.
Team news
Diego Simeone will have a full squad available for this game. However, the last match against Sevilla FC played its toll on Real Madrid, who will be without James Rodríguez, Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Luka Modrić, who are all injured, as well as Marcelo, who is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Views from the dugouts
"We are up against a superb team with excellent players", stated Simeone during his pre-match press conference. The Atleti coach refuted the claim that this game represents his team’s last chance to stay in the race for the La Liga title: "We are not worried about what might happen. We are only concerned with tomorrow’s match. What happens after the final whistle doesn’t bother us at the moment".
His counterpart in the Real Madrid technical area is certain that the keys to winning this match are the element of surprise and an intense approach: "We have to find a way of disrupting them". Ancelotti also underlined the importance of the derby: "It is a three-pointer for both sides. We have a slight advantage but that won't matter. Using possession efficiently will be hugely important but so too the speed of play".
© LALIGA - 2015