La Liga Preview: Real Madrid - Atlético Madrid

The 2007/08 La Liga season kicks off with a bang on Saturday as the high-octane Madrid derby between Real and Atlético Madrid will officially get the new campaign underway.

Champions Already Under Pressure

Even before the first kick of a ball in La Liga, reigning champions Real Madrid are already feeling the sweltering heat of pressure from fans and media alike. After dishing out over €120 million to strengthen their team (or should one say completely overhaul their squad) and enduring a pre-season that hasn't exactly gone to plan, manager Bernd Schuster will have almost no room for failure come kick-off, especially since it is a clasico encounter against city rivals Atlético Madrid. That it is only day one of the new term should be no excuse to the men in white for not putting on an impressive show and bagging all three points.

It might be a little cruel for Schuster to begin his Real tenure with a Madrid derbi but the flip side of the coin is that the players on the pitch will not require any extra motivation nor ear-piercing lectures to go out and hit top gear straight away. The experienced campaigners will know by now that a clash with their crosstown rivals means more than just the three points. Pride and bragging rights are also always high up in the list of priorities and the newcomers will realize this as soon as the opening whistle is blown.

Late Show Continues

After putting on a series of incredible comebacks and "late shows" toward the end of last season to pip Barcelona to the league title, Madrid have continued with that particular theme in the transfer market this season. What looked like a fairly quiet start to their summer spending (by their standards at least) suddenly burst to life over the last two weeks as they splashed out close to €90 million in a space of fourteen days.

Arjen Robben, Gabriel Heinze, Wesley Sneijder and Royston Drenthe arrived at the Spanish capital with the typical Real fanfare and that immediately eliminated any question over their once unsurpassed spending power. But as president Ramón Calderón's predecessor will know only too well, all that extravagant spending will mean precious little if it's not translated into success. Instant success!

Out Of The Shadows?

Atlético Madrid have long been in the shadows of their illustrious neighbours. Aside from the obvious discrepancy in the trophy cabinet, Los Colchoneros have not beaten Los Merengues in their last 11 league meetings, stretching all the way back to October 1999 when they won 1-3 at the Bernabéu.

But for the new season, the mattress men can at least lay claim to having the type of summer shopping spree usually seen only in the white half of the city. Chairman Enrique Cerezo spent over €80 million bolstering his club to make up for the loss of their favourite son, Fernando Torres. Many fans believe that his departure and instant cash flow has already benefited the club greatly, as it allowed manager Javier Aguirre to enhance the depth and competitiveness of the squad.

The arrivals of Simão Sabrosa from Benfica, former Pichichi winner Diego Forlán from Villareal, Luis Garcia from Liverpool and Jose Antonio Reyes from Arsenal - via Real Madrid - will bring a good mix of quantity and quality to the team as they look to improve on last season's 7th place finish and also make an impression in the UEFA Cup.

Pre-Season Verdict

The pre-season preparations have not been pretty for Bernd Schuster and his boys. Inconsistent results and unimaginative performances culminated in last weekend's 3-5 trashing by Sevilla in the second leg of the Supercup. The knives were already out on Schuster even before that crushing loss after tame defeats to PSV Eindhoven and Real Betis is friendly cup competitions. If ever there is a time for Los Blancos to get going, it would be right now.

Atlético have been more solid in their pre-season and they will hold a slight advantage going into the game having played more competitive matches due to their Intertoto and UEFA Cup participation.

After an early shock 2-1 loss to minnows from Romania Gloria Bistrita in the first leg of the Intertoto, Aguirre's side have since hit their stride as they swept aside Serbians Nojvodina Novi Sad 3-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Cup qualifying round, followed by a 0-2 win at Getafe in their final pre-season friendly. But as the cliché goes, statistics, history and form book usually go flying straight out the window in a mammoth clash like this.

FORM GUIDE

Real Madrid

Aug 19 vs Sevilla (h) LOST 3-5 (Super Cup)

Aug 11 vs Sevilla (a) LOST 1-0 (Super Cup)

Jun 17 vs Real Mallorca (h) WON 3-1 (Primera Liga)

Jun 09 vs Real Zaragoza (a) DREW 2-2 (Primera Liga)

May 26 vs Deportivo La Coruña (h) WON 3-1 (Primera Liga)

Atlético Madrid

Aug 16 vs Nojvodina Novi Sad (h) WON 3-0 (UEFA Cup)

Jul 28 vs Gloria Bistrita (h) WON 1-0 (Intertoto Cup)

Jul 21 vs Gloria Bistrita (a) LOST 2-1 (Intertoto Cup)

Jun 17 vs Osasuna (a) WON 1-2 (Primera Liga)

Jun 09 vs Celta Vigo (h) LOST 2-3 (Primera Liga)

TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid

The big news coming out of the Bernabéu would have to be the last minute arrivals of Arjen Robben and Gabriel Heinze. However, the pair will have to postpone their debuts for another week, having yet to reach peak fitness and yet to be fully incorporated into the team.

The main concern is the fitness of goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The Madrid number one injured his right knee during training with the Spanish national team and he will be closely monitored over the next 48 hours. Jerzy Dudek will step in if he fails to recover in time. Gonzalo Higuain and Miguel Torres will be left out of the squad as they work on their minor injuries.

SQUAD: Casillas, Dudek - Sergio Ramos, Salgado, Pepe, Metzelder, Cannavaro, Heinze, Drenthe, Marcelo - Baptista, Sneijder, Diarra, Gago, Guti, Balboa, de la Red, Robben - Raul, Saviola, Robinho, Soldado, Higuain, van Nistelrooy

PROBABLE STARTING XI: Casillas/Dudek - Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Drenthe - Sneijder, Diarra, Guti, Robinho - Raul, van Nistelrooy

Atlético Madrid

Jose Antonio Reyes will make an emotional return to the Bernabéu but his place in the starting line up is not guaranteed, especially after the influx of new midfield arrivals in the summer. His chances will be boosted though with Simão and Maxi Rodriguez both racing against time to pass a late fitness test, as will Greek defender Yourkas Seitaridis.

A fight for a place upfront is equally fierce with Mista, Luis Garcia and the impressive young "Kun" Agüero vying for a start alongside Diego Forlan.

SQUAD: Leo Franco, Abbiati - Seitaridis, Antonio Lopez, Mariano Pernia, Fabiano Eller, Ze Castro, Perea, Ibanez, Juan Valera - Luccin, Raul Garcia, Maxi, Jurado, Maniche, Cleber, Simão, Cuevas, Reyes - Forlan, Luis Garcia, Agüero, Silva, Braulio, Mista,

PROBABLE STARTING XI: Leo Franco - Ze Castro, Ibanez, Perea, Antonio Lopez - Maxi, Raul Garcia, Luccin, Simão /Reyes - Agüero, Forlan

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Madrid - Wesley Sneijder

Among all the fresh faces, the 23 year old Dutchman will be the one to keep an eye on, as he holds the key to Real's midfield creativity. As the new crossball and set piece specialist, expectations of him will be even higher now that he is seen as a near-direct replacement for David Beckham. Robinho will be Schuster's other hope to spark some much needed imagination to the team, as the Brazilian will be eager to finally prove himself to the Bernabéu faithful after his excellent showing in the Copa America.

Atlético Madrid - Diego Forlan

The former Yellow Submarine hitman will put Real's shaky defence to the ultimate test. Aguirre is expected to go with an attacking mindset and the Uruguayan will have plenty of support and firepower from his midfield teammates. Jose Antonio Reyes often did his most damage coming on as a substitute for Real Madrid last season and he'll be looking to do the same this term, except for Atlético's benefit. Also look out for Simão, Maxi and Agüero to provide plenty of sizzle to trouble the merengue defence.

PREDICTION

Real Madrid will be looking to avoid the disaster of last week at all cost. There will be plenty of fireworks in this encounter, despite the fact that opening day matches usually take a while to get going.

Real Madrid 2-2 Atlético Madrid