Next Tuesday, February 11, 2014 (12:00 PM Pacific, 20:00 GMT), Atlético Madrid will go head-to-head with Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderón for the semi-finals’ second leg of the Copa del Rey. The Colchoneros have a herculean task ahead of them, after being hammered by a surprising 3-0 on the first leg match at Santiago Bernabéu last week. On the other hand, Real Madrid has probably earned their ticket to the final when they put an end to an impressive row of results from Atlético Madrid last Wednesday, and they will certainly face tomorrow’s match in a particularly more comfortable position.
Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid had, in fact, a week to forget. After being completely floored by their eternal rivals and city neighbours, the Colchoneros were surprised last weekend in the last ten minutes of the match by a mighty Almeria that dethroned Atlético Madrid from the top of La Liga by grabbing a 2-0 win. These two consecutive defeats certainly represented a major blow in the team’s morale and their captain Gabi has already rallied the troops for a strong comeback against Real Madrid next Tuesday. The Atlético’s midfielder told the media that the team is aware of the mountain they have to climb, but he also believes that all the players are now more united than ever and that they will manage to overcome these two recent and consecutive upsets.
For next Tuesday’s match, Diego Simeone will not be able to rely on Tiago, David Villa and Filipe Luis, all of them sidelined due to injury, and on Diego Costa, who is suspended.
Real Madrid’s travel to the home of their rivals will certainly be quieter after what happened at the first leg match. Los Blancos have a historical advantage in the clashes with Atlético Madrid and after being defeated at home in the Liga BBVA by Diego Simeone’s men earlier this season, Real Madrid has somewhat avenged that upset with a stunning 3-0 win during last week’s cup match.
Carlos Ancelotti will probably implement some changes into his team; nevertheless, he warned his players about the importance of forgetting the result of the first leg in order to maintain concentration levels sky high and thus avoid what would be a major upset for Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Prediction
Atlético Madrid will have to put up a vintage performance if they want to recover what Arda Turan, in a recent interview, considered to be an unfair result and they will have to try and control the match, always being aware of the nefarious effect Real Madrid’s counter attack may have. This being said, the most likely outcome is 2-1 to Atlético Madrid.
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Possible Lineups
Atlético Madrid – 4-4-1-1
Courtois, Manquillo, Miranda, Godin, Juanfran, Koke, Gabi, Suarez, Sosa, Turan, Adrian
Real Madrid – 4-2-3-1
Casillas, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Arbeloa, Alonso, Modric,, Di Maria, Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid Television
The match will be televised on beIN Sports USA.
