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Atletico Madrid Real Madrid match preview

Cristiano Ronaldo will return from his three-match suspension to face city rivals Atletico Madrid on a crucial derby that could see Real Madrid reinforce their chances to win La Liga.

With the Colchoneros sitting third in the table, a victory would leave Los Blancos six points ahead their arch-rivals, a fairly good advantage at this stage of the season. A loss, however, would bring Atletico back to the fight, after their disappointing loss against Osasuna last week.

Carlo Ancelotti will very likely line-up his BBC forward line –Benzema, Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo– that trashed Schalke 04 on Wednesday scoring two goals each. The Portuguese returns from suspension for the key part of the season, bringing Jese back to the bench.

Luka Modric will also start alongside Angel di Maria and Xabi Alonso in midfield after missing Elche’s game for suspension. Ancelotti will only miss Sami Khedira, who remains the only absentee for Los Merengues.

Diego Pablo Simeone will seek to put their men back to the right track and take revenge from the Copa del Rey semi-final, in which Real embarrassed them with an overall 5-0 win in both games.

The Argentinian will recover his starting left-back, Filipe Luis, who has missed the last games due to injury. Thus, he will be able to line-up his usual starting eleven, although Raul Garcia could feature replacing David Villa, who is not in his best shape.

The game will also see Diego Costa and Ronaldo fighting for the top scorer of La Liga trophy. The Portuguese has scored 22 goals so far this season, while the Brazilian has netted 21.

A victory of the hosts and a win for Barcelona against Almeria would leave the three teams tied at the top of the table with 63 points. Meanwhile, Los Blancos will only need a draw to remain on first place for at least one more week.

Possible line-ups:

Atletico Madrid: Courtois; Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe Luis; Koke, Gabi, Mario, Arda Turan; Garcia, Costa.

Real Madrid: Diego Lopez; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Alonso, Di Maria; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.

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Atletico de Madrid boss Diego Simeone believes his side is coming up against the most feared side in Europe when they take on Real Madrid tomorrow.

Los Blancos have begun 2014 in blistering form, and recently defeated Los Rojiblancos in the two-legged Copa del Rey semi-final. They sent out a warning sign to the rest of those involved in the Champions League this week by thrashing Schalke 6-1 in the first-leg of their last 16 tie.

And speaking to journalists ahead of the game at the Vicente Calderon, Simeone said his team is coming up against a formidable force. Atletico are looking to do the league double over Real for the first time in 63 years having already won at the Santiago Bernabeu back in September thanks to a Diego Costa goal.

Simeone said: “They put in a great game [in Gelsenkirchen] and they’ll be visiting the Vicente Calderon after an emphatic win. They are the league leaders and they’re hitting form. Right now, Madrid are the most feared side in Europe.

“The favourites are the ones who are top of the table, so it’s only logical that the team which is top of the standings is the better side.”

He went on to say Carlo Ancelotti’s men is full of quality and can score at any time.
“The best thing about Real Madrid is how they play as a unit. They have some fantastic individual players who reinforce a side which is very well-balanced.”

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Madrid will come to a standstill this afternoon as Real Madrid visit Atletico de Madrid in La Liga, looking to put a huge dent in the hosts’ title hopes.

Real go to the Vicente Calderon with a three point advantage, and opening up a six point gap would give Los Rojiblancos a mountain to climb with just 12 games to go in the league.

The Madrid press has plenty of pre-match build up, and the attention is on the star men for each side – Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Costa. Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in La Liga with 22 goals, while the Brazil-born Spain striker is on 21 goals for the season – so we are set for an intriguing battle between them today.

The match-up between Sergio Ramos and Costa should also be an interesting one, with the press having made much of the so-called animosity between the pair during the recent Copa del Rey matches between the sides.

Real won those two matches – 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu and 2-0 in the Calderon – but Atletico are going for their first league double over the illustrious city rivals for the first time in 63 years. Costa’s goal at the Bernabeu back in September gave Atletico a 1-0 win, and a first defeat for Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti.

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Real Madrid’s goalkeeper dilemma could get even stickier, according to new transfer rumours. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is now targeting Manchester United’s young David De Gea, according to Sports Direct News.

Ancelotti has continued former manager Jose Mourinho’s favouring of Diego Lopez. The Portuguese manager controversially dropped longtime club captain Iker Casillas for Lopez back in the 2012-13 season, but the new man has continued to justify his place in the starting 11.

Despite this, Sports Direct News claims that Ancelotti is looking to bring yet another Spanish goalkeeper to the Bernabeu.

De Gea had a rocky start to his time at United and was often criticized for his decision-making and steadiness. However, in the past two seasons, he has silenced many of his critics and established himself as an important part of the United squad — perhaps in part due to a fantastic performance against Los Blancos themselves in the 2013 Champions League round of 16.

He has been one of the bright spots in an otherwise horrific season for the Red Devils by their standards, and his quality is highlighted by a string of four clean sheets in his past seven games.

However, it is unclear what role the former Atletico Madrid man would fill if he returned to the Spansih capital. Lopez has started every La Liga match and Casillas is the go-to man for Copa del Ray and Champions League fixtures.

De Gea was the starting keeper for Spain’s Under-21 European Championship in the summer of 2013 and dazzled alongside current Merengues Isco, Alvaro Morata, Asier Illarramendi, Dani Carvajal and Nacho Fernandez, so perhaps Ancelotti is looking to recreate as much of that winning squad as possible.

For De Gea, a move back to his hometown — albeit to the white side of town — could prove vital to his eventual goal of being called up to the senior Spanish side.

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Sergio Ramos is in the form of his life, according to Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Los Blancos have been in superb form in 2014 so far, and began the year with seven clean sheets in a row. After a shaky start to the season, in which the players were getting to know the new manager, Real are currently on a 27-game unbeaten run in all competitions, with their last defeat being the 2-1 reverse at the Nou Camp in October.

And speaking to the press ahead of the Madrid derby on Sunday, Ancelotti said the defensive improvement has coincided with Sergio Ramos experiencing an upturn in form.

“The squad is very able in carrying out defensive work. And we’re seeing the real Sergio Ramos now, not the player from November or December,” he stated.

“You can quickly fix any mistakes and we’ve done that, not just by changing our system but also because the players now understand how important it is to recover possession.
Defensive and offensive balance is the most important thing in football. Defensive work doesn’t require creativity or skill,” the Italian boss added.

Ancelotti also praised young froward Jese Rodriguez, who has risen to prominence this season thanks to some outstanding displays when filling in for the injured Bale or suspended Ronaldo.

The manager said: “Jese is scoring goals and setting up his team-mates. We’re very lucky to have him here. He is a very focused player and he works hard.  Could Jese go to the World Cup? Well, it was a big surprise when Paolo Rossi was called for Italy in 1982, so who knows?”

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has praised city rivals Atletico de Madrid ahead of the derby this weekend, saying he didn’t think La Liga would be a three-horse race.

In a wide ranging interview with Canal Plus, Ancelotti said Diego Simeone’s side had shown a lot of character and fighting spirit, and the league race will go right down to the wire.

He added that in any other league in Europe, with 60 points after 25 games, Atletico would be top of the table. In Spain, they find themselves in third place, three points behind their city rivals, and below Barcelona on goal difference.

“It’s a very interesting League campaign, very exciting,” Ancelotti stated, before adding “there are three brave, strong sides battling for the title. It’s a surprise because I thought that it would be between Barcelona and Madrid but Atletico are doing a fantastic job.”

Speaking about the game itself, he said Los Blancos would take heart from the two recent Copa del Rey matches between the sides, which they won 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. Real have to be on their guard though, as they lost in La Liga to a Diego Costa goal at the Santiago Bernabeu back in September. “Both of those games gave us confidence because in the League derby, we had problems,” Ancelotti said.

The Italian also had warm words for Tata Martino at Barcelona, who has come under fire this week followed their shock 3-1 reverse at Real Sociedad last weekend.

“I like him, he’s doing well. His character is similar to mine,” Ancelotti noted. “He doesn’t look for problems. His job isn’t easy because Barca are used to a strict style of play which has given them results.”

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Attention has switched the the Madrid derby which takes place tomorrow, and once again, the focus in the Madrid press is on the Real forward line.

Between them, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have made many headlines this season – mostly for the right reasons. And both Marca and AS look at what the Rojiblanco defence has to content with when Los Blancos visit the Vicente Calderon.

The BBC trio as they are known in Spain have scored 46 goals in La Liga between them. Only two teams in the league have scored more – Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid. The other seventeen teams have scored fewer goals than just those three in the Madrid team.

On a Europe-wide scale, the BBC have scored 70 goals, four more than Manchester City’s trident of Kun, Negredo and Dzeko. PSG are third on the list of most lethal trios, with Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Moura scoring 60 between them this season.

Elsewhere, Atletico defender Joao Miranda has been talking about the big match, saying Atletico have to treat it like a final. The hosts are looking to complete their first league double over Madrid in 63 years. And Miranda told AS that a defeat would all but end their La Liga hopes as a six point gap at this stage of the season would be difficult to make up.

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Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has said the team’s philosophy has become clearer in recent months as the players are used to Carlo Ancelotti and is methods.

Los Blancos continued their blistering form in 2014 by thrashing Schalke 6-1 in the first leg of their last-16 clash in Germany. It was Madrid’s second win in Germany in all time in 26 visits to the country.

After the game, Ramos shared a picture of him and various teammates on social media, reflecting the positive mood in the camp. And talking to journalists, he said everyone in the club was pulling in the same direction.

He said: “We are cherishing a historic win here in Germany; we’re going home with a great result. We can see the Real Madrid philosophy clearer and clearer.”

The World Cup winner then switched his attention to this weekend’s derby against Atletico de Madrid. Always one for a physical challenge, Ramos played down any stories of problems between him and Atletico striker Diego Costa.

The Spanish press have said in recent weeks that the pair do not get on well, something that could be problematic should Brazil-born Costa be picked for the Spain squad as they look to defend their World Cup crown this summer.

“I have never said that I have anything against Diego Costa: this summer, God willing, we’ll be defending the same colours,” he stated.

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Legendary Real Madrid left-back Roberto Carlos has told Marca that his goal is to manage Los Blancos in the next ten years.

Carlos is currently in charge of Turkish side Sivasspor, after finally ending his illustrious playing career at Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2012, aged 39.

Speaking to the Spanish newspaper, he said: “To train Real Madrid is a dream that I have.”

The Brazilian, who represented Real Madrid for eleven years – winning a total of thirteen major honours, including four league titles and three Champions League winners medals – is considered one of the greatest left-backs of all time and was part of the Galacticos team during his career at the club.

But the Sivasspor boss has warned Madrid’s current manager Carlo Ancelotti of the dangers of competing for three titles in one season. “When we were going for three competitions during my time [at Real Madrid], we were left without any,” he said.

Los Blancos have all but assured their place in the Champions League quarter finals after a 6-1 victory away at Schalke last night, but Carlos has warned fans to not always expect to win the competition. “You have to go slowly, you cannot think that Real Madrid are the best team in Europe,” he commented.

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The latest Real Madrid transfer rumours point to Liverpool eyeing a summer move for two Los Blancos players: Karim Benzema and Isco.

British newspaper Metro has claimed that the Reds could be preparing a 25-million euros offer for the Frenchman, as they believe Los Blancos would let him leave if they sign a new striker.

Although 25 million seem like a small amount for such a world-class striker, but Liverpool are expecting Benzema doesn’t reach an agreement to extend his contract, and thus take advantage of the fact that he will only have one year left.

Metro has also stated the Reds are also keen on bringing Isco to Anfield Road, as they are seeking a replacement for Stephen Gerrard, who might retire sooner than later. In this case, Liverpool could make a 40-million euros offer, ten more million than what Real paid Malaga for the Andalucian.

Sports agent François Gallardo has supported the theory of Isco leaving the Santiago Bernabeu next summer, given his current lack of minutes of play. “He will leave, either on loan or in a permanent move,” Gallardo said at Spanish television show El Chiringuito.

Gallardo also affirmed that Los Blancos are thinking of reinforcing their defence with the signing of Bayern Munich’s centre-back Dante. However, he recognised that the German club might not be willing to sell.

Siqueira takes the lead for the left-back role

In other news, Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola ha published that Real and Granada are about to close a deal to bring Guilherme Siqueira, now on loan at Benfica, to Madrid. Fabio Coentrao is expected to leave next summer and the Brazilian is one of his possible replacements. Sevilla’s Alberto Moreno has also been linked with that job, but recent rumours have linked him with Atletico Madrid.

Alen Halilovic is another Real Madrid target who is about to sign for one of Los Blancos’ rivals. Croatian newspaper Jutarnji has claimed Dinamo Zagreb’s wonder kid is about to sign for Barcelona and join the Azulgranas’ reserve team. Dinamo’s president Mirko Barisic has confirmed the negotiations.

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