Real Madrid face their fierce rivals Atlético Madrid in what is, arguably, their most important game so far. Also, what will be their seventh meeting this season after encountering twice in the Supacopa, La Liga and twice in the Copa del Rey and its Los Blancos who are undergoing a barren run against their nemesis, they have failed to win in their last seven Madrid derbies. Most recently getting demolished 4-0 at the Vicente Calderon back in February.

Against Spanish sides in Europe at home, Atlético are unbeaten, winning five, drawing just the once and keeping four clean sheets.

Real Madrid have lost only one of their last seven games against a Spanish team in Europe. They have won four times and have drew twice.

This meeting will be the second Derby Madrileño in the Champions League after the Champions League final last year, which Real Madrid won 4-1 after extra time.

Team News:

Diego Simeone was dealt a boost ahead of the crucial first leg against Real Madrid after striker Mario Mandzukic was declared fit following an ankle injury, which saw him miss two games. The Croatian has twenty goals in thirty-seven appearances for Rojiblancos. The only other injury concerns are 31-year old goalkeeper Moyá who has a hamstring injury and Raúl Garcia who is a doubt for the game after the midfielder suffered a wrist injury but the Spaniard is set to make the bench despite undergoing examinations to see whether he is fit enough to play before the game.

For Carlo Ancelotti, he is expected to play his full strength Real Madrid side after having a clean bill of health with Gareth Bale being passed fit to play following his absence in the 3-0 home win against Eibar which the Welshman sat out of but he is expected to be in the squad for the reigning Champions League champions.

Pre match comments:

Diego Simeone: "I wish we can invite the audience to be present throughout the match. Tomorrow we have to play with the atmosphere of the Stadium and the pride of being among the best eight. "In a long championship, you can see the differences in budget. In a qualifying round, the strengths can be equated.”

Mario Suarez: "Both teams know each other very well. We have to give our best version. Tomorrow we’ll go out to win, as we always do"

Carlo Ancelotti: “Each game presents a problem. The defeats against Atlético have all been different; it’s tricky to pinpoint what happened. We’ve studied these games and we’ll see what happens over these two legs, Our objective is not to eliminate Atleti, but win our 11th European Cup. They’re [Atlético] tricky rival, a strong team defensively and a team we have maximum respect for. They battle from the first minute".

Marcelo: “We’ve changed a great deal since the last Champions League match. We’ve played quite a few times so things change constantly. These will be two difficult games and we want to win both. Atlético are a great team. The are full of fight. We’re not focusing on previous encounters. We have two games coming up and we need to show that we can progress’’.

Stadium: Vicente Calderón

It is the home stadium of Atlético Madrid, located in the Arganzuela district of the Capital. The stadium was opened on the October 2nd 1966. The stadium has capacity of 54,960. After 2016, the Vicente Calderón is set to be demolished and be replaced by a park, which will be called "Park Atlético Madrid". There have been forty-eight Madrid Derbies held at the Vicente Calderon, Real Madrid have won twenty-four of the matches, Atletico have won nine at their home ground and the two rivals have shared the spoils on sixteen occasions since the Vicente Calderón opened.

Previous Meetings at the Vicente Calderon:

07/02/15 – Atlético Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid
07/01/15 – Atlético Madrid 2-0 Real Madrid
22/08/14 – Atlético Madrid 1-0 Real Madrid

Referee: Milorad Mazic

Milorad Mažić is 42-year old referee from Serbia who officiated in the Serbian SuperLiga. He officiated in the World Cup, officiating in Germany - Portugal, and Argentina - Iran. This season in the Champions League, he has officiated in five games. He has already been involved in a Real Madrid match, officiating in their 0-1 win over FC Basel in the Group Stage. He was the referee in Borussia Dortmund’s 0-3 defeat to Juventus in the Last 16. He has cautioned twenty-two players and has yet to send a player off but has awarded one penalty in the Champions League, this season.

Form (All Comps):

Atlético Madrid D (0-0 - Espanyol), W (1-0 - Leverkusen – penalties), W (2-0 - Getafe), W(0-2 - Cordoba), W (2-0 - R.Sociedad), D (2-2 - Malaga).

Real Madrid: L (3-4 - Schalke – RM won on away goals), W (2-0 - Levante), L (2-1 - Barcelona), W (9-1 - Granada), W (0-2 - R.Vallecano), W (3-0 - Eibar).

Key Players:

Atlético Madrid:

Mario Mandzukic - 5 goals
Raul Garcia – 2 goals
Koke – 4 assists

Real Madrid:

Cristiano Ronaldo – 8 goals
Karim Benzema – 6 goals
Toni Kroos – 3 assists

(Quotes via @AtletiEnglish on Twitter and AS.com)

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