Real’s Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema return for Madrid derby

Real still has the upper hand on its neighbor in European competition and tomorrow’s game is the first meeting between the teams since Real’s penalty shootout victory in the UCL final last May.

Jorge Fernandez, Atletico Madrid fan and journalist for Diario AS.

Both are frontrunners along with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi among a shortlist of 30 for the prize, but Ronaldo is the strong favourite for his fourth Ballon d’Or having beaten Griezmann in the finals of the Champions League and Euro 2016. “It’s going to be complicated, but we are use to tough games”. We felt that trophy belonged to us. However, Real Madrid is also the team that has inflicted the two most painful defeats in Atletico’s history. Diego Simeone has changed the narrative of the derby by returning Atletico to their historical place.

It is a shame that such a huge game will be missed out on by some of the players that make it so special, but if injuries do decide the match then it should definitely go in the favour of Atletico Madrid, whose fitness concerns pale in comparison to those of Real. Now beating Real is no longer an obsession for us, winning the Champions League is.

“Inside he gives us much more perspective”, the coach said.

Ahead of the Saturday’s game, Zidane told a news conference, “Ronaldo always wants more”.

Six points behind Real Madrid are Atletico and they will view this fixture as a must win, as a loss would put them nine points behind their city neighbours.

“We analyse our opponents and we try to find ways of getting in behind them, causing them problems”, added Zidane. “We’ll wait and see on Saturday if he will start”.

“The criticism Zinedine Zidane has received recently is curious”. However, both have taken advantage of the global break to shaken off those problems and are in Zidane’s 20-man squad for Atletico Madrid.

“I think he is a great coach”.

Barca reversed a trend of poor results following global breaks with a 4-0 hammering of Deportivo la Coruna last month, but once again face being deprived of some of their South American stars.

And of all the people to overstep the mark, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who pushed the boundaries of acceptable training etiquette.

But recent performances, including a 2-0 defeat at Real Sociedad, suggest problems at the back and Gabi believes one reason is Simeone’s decision to move Koke into an attacking midfield role after previously playing him on the left wing. Sergio Ramos is also back with the squad after missing more than a month with a knee injury.