Holders Real Madrid face their eternal city rivals Atletico Madrid for a blockbuster clash in the 2024-25 Champions League Round of 16, first leg at Santiago Bernabeu.
RM vs ATL Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 4 March 2025 / Wednesday, 5 March 2025
Time: 21:00 (CET), 01:30 (IST)
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
RM vs ATL Match Preview
Real Madrid did not qualify for the Round of 16 directly as they finished 11th in the League Phase table, requiring to clear the playoff stage. However, the challenge to face Premier League champions Manchester City at the stage was swept aside after a stunning hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé at the Spanish capital. Los Blancos carried a 3-2 advantage from the first leg but the Frenchman’s performance ensured it won’t be a tight affair this time in the 3-1 second leg triumph. The record champions keep their hopes of winning a 16th crown alive but the path only gets trickier from here. Carlo Ancelotti's side will now meet their city rivals Atletico Madrid in a huge last-16 tie hoping to repeat the results of the two Champions League finals played against them and the last meeting seven years ago in the semifinal stage. Unbeaten in nine successive knockout matches in the competition, including their title win in Wembley last year, Los Blancos sense no reason to end the streak in this clash that too against their city rivals. The record champions have not lost this fixture at home in any competition since 2016. Their main worry could be the loss of momentum after a surprise 2-1 loss to Real Betis in La Liga this weekend, ending a seven-game unbeaten run. On top of that, star midfielder Jude Bellingham’s service will be missed again owing to his suspension after picking his third yellow card in the playoffs.
Atletico Madrid are desperate to overturn their disappointment of not triumphing over their city rivals in the Champions League with their 2-1 home win in the final meeting not enough to help them progress to the 2016-17 season final. Los Rojiblancos also suffered heartbreak in the 2014 and 2016 showpieces so they have a big opportunity here to have some redemption. After all, the side finished higher than Real Madrid in the League Phase table and grabbed an automatic spot for the last-16 stage by finishing fifth on the table. It was a dominating display from Diego Simeone's men registering six wins out of eight games, scoring 20 goals and conceding only 11. They are also staying ahead in the La Liga race, in second with two points better than Los Blancos and just a point away from the top spot. The team have a better form in the last seven Madrid derbies in all competitions by staying unbeaten in six. The previous three ties ended in a 1-1 draw, including three such results in that period at Santiago Bernabeu. However, their away form in the knockout games could be a concern having lost all three of them last season. Atletico would have wished for an easier opponent having finished in the top five in the League Phase but the new format guarantees heavyweight clashes throughout the campaign so they have to work with it. The visitors would want to avoid defeat in the first leg at all costs, taking something back for the second leg at home next week.
RM vs ATL Recent Form (all competitions)
RM: DWWWL
ATL: DDWDW
RM vs ATL Recent Form (Champions League)
RM: WWWWW
ATL: WWWWW
RM vs ATL Predicted Lineups
Real Madrid
Courtois; Valverde, Rudiger, Asencio, Mendy; Tchouameni, Camavinga; Rodrygo, Diaz, Vinicius; Mbappe
Atletico Madrid
Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Gimenez, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Lino; Griezmann, Alvarez
RM vs ATL Dream11 Match Prediction
This fixture provided a cagey affair in the last few seasons, so we expect a tightly contested draw again. We predict a 1-1 draw.
RM vs ATL Dream11 Top picks
Captain Pick: Kylian Mbappe
Vice-captain Picks: Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann
Our top picks for RM vs ATL Dream11 team are Kylian Mbappe with 7 goals and Julian Alvarez with 6 goals in the Champions League.
Another key pick could be Antoine Griezmann who has contributed to 8 goals (6 goals,2 assists) in Europe this season.
RM vs ATL Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Oblak (Cr - 7.5)
DEF: Asencio (Cr - 7), Rudiger (Cr - 8), Gimenez (Cr - 8)
MID: Llorente (Cr - 8.5), Valverde (Cr - 8), De Paul (Cr - 8.5), Diaz (Cr - 7.5)
FW: Griezmann (Cr - 8.5), Alvarez (Cr - 9), Mbappe (Cr - 9)
Vice-captain: Julian Alvarez
Captain: Kylian Mbappe
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