League leaders Real Madrid will welcome Atletico Madrid for the weekend’s biggest derby in Europe. There is a lot of history at stake here and Real will be wary of the threat posed by their neighbors.
The Galacticos are going through an unstoppable phase at the moment. They are scoring goals for fun and are terrorizing opponents in all competitions. Real Madrid are the only team that have won all of their Champions League group matches so far and turned in a vintage performance against Dinamo Zagreb in midweek, netting six times.
The los blancos are leading the La Liga charts with 31 points from 12 games – a lethal spell in which they have scored 42 times while conceding a mere 9 times. Real’s attack has been in scintillating form thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, and Karim Benzema.
All these guys are playing at the top level at this point of time and each can be attributed with the title of the best striker in Europe given their current form. However, Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria, and Kaka have been playing their best football in a while now to contribute to the team. Di Maria in particular was in sensational form before tearing a thigh muscle in Real’s 7-1 rout of Osasuna.
Mesut Ozil and Kaka continue to impress though and will be extremely hard to stop on Saturday evening. Add the likes of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, and Marcelo to that list and you have a team that will be challenging for the top honors in Europe and world football.
Atletico in the meanwhile had to sell their best players in the off season with Diego Forlan departing for Inter Milan as Sergio Aguero and David De Gea left for Manchester City and Manchester United respectively. However, Atletico have bought well enough in the market to compensate for these losses. Arda Turan, Diego, and Radamel Falcao have come in as worthy replacements while Joel Robles has impressed between the posts.
Atletico Madrid have always reserved their best for the derbies and they would love to put an end to Real Madrid’s domination of the La Liga this term when they head to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night. They certainly have the players to get a result in this highly anticipated match. A football match of the highest quality is on the cards as the two teams clash for the first time in this edition of the La Liga.