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La Liga: Unbeaten Atletico out to assert dominance in Madrid derby

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Spain’s headline clash for the weekend is the meeting of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano for a capital city derby. ‘El Derbi Madrileno’ dates back to the teams’ first meeting in 1906 and is a rivalry which has been strongly dominated by Los Blancos.

That includes last season when Real secured a 0-0 away draw at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in September 2019 and a 1-0 win in the return game in February 2020 – with French striker Karim Benzema netting the all-important goal. In fact, the Rojiblancos have not beaten their rivals in La Liga since February 2016.

However, Diego Simeone’s team have looked strong this season – so much so that they are being tipped to succeed Real as La Liga champions. Their manager, though, is not taking anything for granted.

“We are doing well, which means everyone is surrounding us and watching us,” explained Simeone. “But let’s not get confused. This cannot lead us to a state that we don’t need to be in. I do not understand any way of thinking other than game by game. That does not mean I do not have other aspirations, but we can only concentrate on what is going to happen to us tomorrow.”

Elsewhere in Spain this round, Real Betis will look to claim the scalp of Villarreal, Barcelona will be backing themselves to beat Levante at the Camp Nou, while Real Sociedad will feel the same about their clash with Elche at the Anoeta Stadium. “We want to achieve something great so we have to keep going,” said Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil of his team’s form this season.

La Liga fixtures 

Friday 11 December

22:00: Real Valladolid v Osasuna

Saturday 12 December

15:00: Valencia v Athletic Bilbao

17:15: Getafe v Sevilla

19:30: Huesca v Deportivo Alaves

22:00: Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid

Sunday 13 December

15:00: Real Sociedad v Eibar

17:15: Real Betis v Villarreal

19:30: Elche v Granada

22:00: Barcelona v Levante

Monday 14 December

22:00: Celta Vigo v Cadiz

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