Real v Atletico Madrid: Match Preview and Predictions

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
UEFA Champions League Semi Final First Leg
Date: Tuesday, 2nd May 2017
Kick-off at 19:45 UK / 20:45 CET
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid.

The first semi final of this seasons Champions League semi final witness city rivals Real and Atletico Madrid pitted against each other.

This will the third successive year these two will be clashing in the tournaments with Real Madrid coming on top on all previous occasions.

Form Guide

Real Madrid

The Real Madrid superstars were not been able to show lethal touch in recent weeks. They need a stroke of luck to surpass Bayern Munich in the second leg of the quarter finals and were duly punished by Barcelona within a matter of few days in the league meetings.

However, Madrid had lost just once in their last 15 matches in all competitions, which definitely says they have the knack of getting results when it matters.

Anyhow, they could do much better if some defensive stability has been found. They are only 3 clean sheets in the last 12 home games.

Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone’s men are performing much better in the second half of the season. They were outside to four during the whole of year 2016, but they managed to pull back things and made third position in La Liga theirs. They been in sizzling form, thanks to an excellent defense that kept 10 clean sheets in the last 14 matches in all competitions.

The Colchoneros lost four matches since the start of 2017, but all came at their home ground. They are unbeaten in 15 away games during the period with a record of 8 wins and 7 draws.

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid: Head-to-head

Real Madrid are yet to lose a Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid. They won both finals after forcing the match beyond the regulated 90 minutes. While the 2014/15 double legged quarter final was decided by a single goal in the second leg at Bernabeu.

The Los Blancos are unbeaten in the two La Liga meetings against their city rivals this season. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Real’s 3-0 win at Vicente Calderon on November 2017. While a late goal from Griezmann earned Atletico a 1-1 draw in the meeting at Bernabeu on 8th April.

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid: Prediction

It can be fairly put down that no other team in La Liga had troubled Real at Santiago Bernabeu than Atletico. But those remains to domestic meetings and when it comes to Champions League ties, the Los Blancos are a different proportion.

Just like the previous clashes between the sides in the tournament, this one could go down to the wire. We might see a quite first half, with the match opening up in the later parts of the second half. But the home team are slight favourites to win this fixture by a narrow margin.