Who: Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
What: La Liga
Where: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain
When: Sunday, September 20, at 4:15pm (14:15 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up from 11:15 GMT before our live text commentary stream
asserted
Sport → follow → stream
Atletico host bitter city rivals Real for the Madrid derby as both sides look to keep up with early La Liga pacesetters Barcelona.
asserted
sides → host → Barcelona
Madrid trail unbeaten champions Barcelona at the top of the table by three points, with Atletico third.
asserted
Atletico → trail → points
Atletico have bounced back from back-to-back defeats to Bilbao and Liverpool earlier in September, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 and Osasuna 4-0 in their last two games.
asserted
Atletico → bounce → games
Real come into the game in decent form under boss Jose Mourinho but have had wobbles this month, with a defeat to Betis and scoring late to beat bottom club Elche after squandering a two-goal lead.
asserted
Real → come → lead
Improving Atletico cruise to win over Osasuna
Atletico Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 on Wednesday to build some form in the run-up to Sunday’s derby clash against rivals Real Madrid.
Jonathan David, Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand and Alex Baena’s goals helped Diego Simeone’s side cruise to a comfortable home victory.
asserted
side → improve → victory
They were without injured striker Julian Alvarez, but it did not matter after they secured a second straight win to cut the gap on top two Barcelona and Real Madrid.
asserted
they → matter → Barcelona
The comfortable victory was important for an Atletico side with lots of new faces still bedding in, after two defeats in their three matches prior.
asserted
lots → bed → matches
“We controlled it in the first half even though we weren’t clinical,” said coach Diego Simeone.
asserted
Simeone → control → half
“We were clinical in the second half and controlled the game.”
asserted
We → control → game
Mourinho rues lack of game control
Real Madrid squandered a two-goal lead before substitute Carlos Espi struck in stoppage time to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory at Elche in La Liga on Tuesday.
Real went 2-0 up inside 33 minutes through a Matias Dituro own goal and Kylian Mbappe, but second-half strikes from Abiel Osorio and Fer Nino hauled Elche level before Espi restored the visitors’ lead in the 91st minute.
asserted
Espi → rue → minute
It was the second time in six league matches that the 21-year-old Espi had come off the bench to score a late winner, although Mourinho remained concerned by Real’s failure to control the second half in advance of Sunday’s derby against Atletico Madrid.
“The problem seems obvious to me.
asserted
problem → come → me
It’s harder to know why, but it’s easy to understand that there are matches that seem over and, in the end, aren’t,” said Mourinho.
asserted
Mourinho → ’ → end
“[There are] matches where we have three, four, five chances to finish them and don’t,” he said at the pre-match news conference.
asserted
he → be → conference
“After failing to do so, it feels like we go from ease, because it seemed easy, to losing control.”
asserted
it → fail → control
Mourinho said his team’s defensive issues were of concern.
asserted
issues → say → concern
I like my team to score goals … but I also like controlling matches,” explained Mourinho.
asserted
Mourinho → like → matches
“I don’t like gifting control.
asserted
I → like → control
It’s not about the goals, it’s about giving away control of the match.”
asserted
it → ’ → match
The Opta supercomputer has made Real Madrid the favourites, with a win probability of 46.6 percent.
asserted
Madrid → make → percent
Atletico were given a 28.3 percent chance of winning, while a draw was estimated at a 25.1 percent likelihood.
asserted
draw → give → likelihood
Head-to-head
The rivals have faced each other on 243 occasions; Real Madrid won 125 games, Atletico won 60, while 58 matches ended as draws.
asserted
matches → face → draws
Last five encounters:
- March 22, 2026: Real Madrid 3-2 Atletico (La Liga)
- January 8, 2026: Atletico 1-2 Real Madrid (Spanish Super Cup semifinal)
- September 27, 2025: Atletico 5-2 Real Madrid (La Liga)
- March 12, 2025: Atletico 1-0 Real Madrid (Champions League last 16, second leg)
- March 4, 2025: Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico (Champions League last 16, first leg)
What happened the last time the two clubs played each other?
Vinicius Jr scored twice as Real Madrid fought back to beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu in a breathless Spanish capital derby in March.
asserted
Madrid → happen → March
Atletico’s Ademola Lookman opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, finishing a slick counterattack involving Matteo Ruggeri and a delightful back-heel from Giuliano Simeone.
asserted
Lookman → open → Simeone
Vinicius equalised from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute, after David Hancko clumsily tripped Brahim Diaz, and Federico Valverde capitalised on a Jose Maria Gimenez error three minutes later to make it 2-1 to Real.
asserted
it → equalise → Real
Nahuel Molina silenced Real’s Bernabeu stadium with a thunderous 30-metre strike in the 66th minute, but Vinicius restored Real’s lead with a cracking solo effort six minutes later.
asserted
Vinicius → silence → effort
What happened in the corresponding fixture last season?
asserted
What → happen → fixture
Julian Alvarez scored twice as Atletico Madrid came from behind to thrash city rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in a pulsating derby in September 2025.
asserted
Madrid → score → September
Atletico’s aggressive start paid off when Robin Le Normand opened the scoring with a header in the 14th minute.
asserted
Normand → pay → minute
However, Kylian Mbappe burst through to level with an unstoppable strike from close range in a quick counter in the 25th minute, with Arda Guler netting a volley from a Vinicius Jr cross 11 minutes later to put the visitors in front.
asserted
Guler → burst → front
Alexander Sorloth’s header in added time before the break gave Atletico a boost, and they regained the lead five minutes into the second half when Alvarez converted a penalty after Guler’s high boot clipped Nico Gonzalez on the face inside the box.
asserted
boot → add → box
After Alvarez extended their lead in the 64th minute with a sublime free kick into the top corner, substitute Antoine Griezmann sealed the win in a quick counter in added time.
asserted
Griezmann → extend → time
Atletico Madrid’s team news
Alvarez, Pablo Barrios, and Sorloth are doubts, as all three are struggling with muscle issues.
asserted
three → struggle → issues
Jonathan David is likely to continue up front if Alvarez is absent or starts on the bench.
asserted
Alvarez → continue → bench
Predicted starting XI:
Oblak (goalkeeper); Llorente, Romero, Le Normand, Grimaldo; Lee, Koke, Cardoso, Baena; David, Lookman
Real Madrid’s team news
Eder Militao, Rodrygo, and Ferland Mendy are unavailable due to injuries, but otherwise Mourinho appears to have a full squad to choose from.
asserted
Mourinho → appear → squad
The Aporia
