Second-placed Barcelona host Real Sociedad on Sunday at the Olympic stadium.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone famously hates to deviate from the here and now but when his team host Real Madrid on Saturday in a La Liga derby clash it is difficult not to look both forwards and backwards.
The last time these teams met was in March in the Champions League last 16, when Atletico were eliminated after Julian Alvarez’s controversially disallowed shoot-out penalty.
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The Rojiblancos seethed for weeks about the incident, with Alvarez ruled to have double-kicked the ball, and their season rapidly flew off the rails. Perhaps they have never fully recovered since.
Atletico arrive at the Madrid derby, six games into the season, already trailing their league-leading opponents by nine points.
If they fall to a defeat by Xabi Alonso’s Los Blancos, who boast a 100 percent record thus far, a title challenge already looks unlikely.
Atletico spent big in the summer, signing Alex Baena, David Hancko and Thiago Almada among others, for a total of more than 175 million euros ($204 million).
“We want to recover in the best way we can,” said Simeone after his team came from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 in a thrilling clash on Wednesday.
“We will have a really hard, difficult game against a side that has been winning all their games and who have a tonne of very good players in their squad.”
Simeone this week became the coach who has spent the longest time in charge of a La Liga club, having arrived in December 2011.
Helping Atletico to reach two Champions League finals — both lost against Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016 — as well as winning two La Liga titles, Simeone has taken the club to their very best moments.
Unfortunately over the past few seasons, since they won La Liga in 2021, the team have fallen from their peak.
“The team needs to evolve to the height the club has,” admitted Simeone in August.
Rivals Real Madrid are looking for evolution too, with Alonso arriving in the summer to replace Carlo Ancelotti.
The Spaniard can match Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s record of seven straight league wins at the start of a season set in 2005 if Los Blancos emerge on top this weekend.
The main force behind Madrid’s excellent results is superstar striker Kylian Mbappe, who leads the scoring charts with seven. The France international ended last season in rich form and has continued that into the new campaign.
Atletico, by contrast, lacked finesse in front of goal until Alvarez netted the first hat-trick of his career against Rayo to climb to four league goals.
“Julian is the best player that we have. We need to look after him, so he stays many years here at Atletico,” said Simeone.
“He has to help us and we have to help him, so he gets even better than he currently is. Each time he scores he makes the difference, he helps us so much.”
Second-placed Barcelona host Real Sociedad on Sunday at the Olympic stadium, hoping Real Madrid drop points so they can close the two-point gap to the top.
Player to watch: Georges Mikautadze
The Georgian striker is starting to find his footing at Villarreal following his move at the end of the summer transfer window.
Mikautadze could be important for the Yellow Submarine when they face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, in a battle between two sides who expect to finish in the upper echelons of the table.
Key stats
3 – teams still looking for their first win of the season — Celta Vigo, Mallorca and Girona
5 – league games in a row that Celta Vigo have drawn 1-1
20 – Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso is the most fouled player in the league
Fixtures
Friday (all times GMT)
Girona v Espanyol (1900)
Saturday
Getafe v Levante (1200), Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid (1415), Mallorca v Alaves (1630), Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao (1900)
Sunday
Rayo Vallecano v Sevilla (1200), Elche v Celta Vigo (1415), Barcelona v Real Sociedad (1630), Real Betis v Osasuna (1900)
Monday
Valencia v Real Oviedo (1900)
