When Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid stepped onto the King Abdullah Sports City pitch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the Spanish Super Cup semi -final , it was no ordinary derby.
The battle for a place in the Super Cup final, where Barcelona awaits, is a clash of two opposing psychological states .
On one side, Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid are looking for revenge ; on the other, Diego Simeone's Atletico need a win to relieve pressure and salvage their season.
Three months ago, at the Metropolitano, Real Madrid experienced one of the worst evenings of the season when they lost to Atletico 2-5 .
It wasn't just a defeat, but a direct blow to Xabi Alonso's project , who at the time was still in the process of shaping Real Madrid's philosophy of control, pressing, and reorganizing its defensive structure.
That defeat has left Real Madrid unstable to this day. Therefore , Alonso wants to overcome the pain of Atletico more than anyone else, as the result affects his future.
But Xabi Alonso enters this derby with a major problem as Kylian Mbappé is absent . Injury has kept the French star in Madrid.
Without Mbappe, Gonzalo Garcia saved Real Madrid in the match against Betis last weekend. However, it's difficult to expect this young player to continue to shine in the derby.
Rodrygo has been a key player recently. Meanwhile, Alonso is waiting for Vinicius to find his rhythm after months of uncertainty. Behind him, Bellingham leads the attack.
Atletico are under much heavier pressure. In the La Liga standings, Simeone's team is 11 points behind Barca, a gap they have never closed at the end of the first half of the season.
Therefore, winning the Spanish Super Cup became a morale boost for Atletico.
A victory against Real Madrid would significantly boost the morale of Simeone's players. They need to approach the game as they did at home last autumn.
Simeone doesn't need a beautiful game . He waits for the players to demonstrate the tactics and spirit of Atletico , so that Julian Alvarez , Sorloth , and Baena can create breakthroughs.
Force:
Real Madrid: Mbappe and Militao are injured.
Atletico: Nico Gonzalez and Lenglet are injured.
Predicted lineup:
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1) : Courtois; Valverde, Huijsen, Rudiger, Carreras; Camavinga, Tchouameni; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Gonzalo Garcia .
Atletico (4-4-2) : Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko; G. Simeone, Gallagher, Koke, Baena; Sorloth, Alvarez .
Match odds: Real Madrid -1/4 handicap
Total goals: 2 3/4
Prediction: Real Madrid wins 2-1 .
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nhan-dinh-bong-da-real-madrid-vs-atletico-sieu-cup-tay-ban-nha-2479888.html
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