A magnificent seven unbeaten matches for Atletico Madrid in this fixture but that record looks seriously under threat on Wednesday and rivals Real are tipped to advance.
The last four of the Champions League awaits the victors of this all-Spanish tie and it was the current holders that carried the greater threat across town in the first leg last week.
Atletcio will have been happy to emerge unscathed having been second best throughout and their manager Diego Simeone must have been satisfied with the goalless draw at the final whistle.
In a repeat of last season’s final, in which Carlo Ancelotti’s men triumphed 4-1 after extra time, Real wasted some good chances to establish an advantage after 90 minutes and were once again left frustrated in this fixture.
The 0-0 stalemate was the fourth time in the previous six clashes between the pair in which Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates had drawn a blank but Real have plundered 17 goals in four wins since succumbing to Barcelona in El Clasico and the threat going forward still very much remains.
Simeone must take an awful amount of credit for making his troops so difficult to beat but Atletico don’t seem to quite have the attacking prowess in the final third compared to last season, when they ended the campaign as La Liga champions, and Real are no slouches defensively.
Ancelotti will bemoan the loss of Luca Modric and Gareth Bale for Wednesday’s fixture, the pair picked up injuries in the 3-1 defeat of Malaga at the Bernabeu last time out, but in Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema, goals should certainly be forthcoming and one might be enough to prevail.
I am expecting a tense evening at the famous stadium but I’m also surprised to see the host available at 17/20 in the match odds market, even without their Croat and Welsh stars, and it will be some time before Real are available at that sort of price again in the capital.
Real have suffered just two defeats on home soil in the last calendar year, to Schalke and their upcoming opponents, and will be desperate to be the first club to successfully defend the Champions League.
2pts Back Real Madrid (vs. Atletico Madrid) @ 17/20 (Bet Victor)