The 1st Leg of the Spanish Super Cup between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid will be played at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, Spain on August 19, 2014 at 1pm Pacific.
City rivals, a résumé full of historic and memorable matches. The most recent one came in the form of the UEFA Champions League final. Los Blancos beat Los Colchoneros 4-1 and after almost three months from that final whistle, both teams are prepared to give everything to be Spanish Superchampions. La Liga starts on the 23rd, but both teams will play two days later because of how close it is after the second leg (Aug 22nd.) With a lot of new faces for El Cholo Simeone and a few for Carlo Ancelotti, the managers hope to put out the lineup that will most likely be their ideal one for the rest of the season.
Real Madrid
With Cristiano acting as the star, the club just won the European Super Cup. However, a few days later they lost a friendly against Fiorentina. Ancelotti still has many doubts and things to clarify before the start of the season. There seems to be a very big difference in form between the two right-backs and the two left-backs. Coentrão has shown his best side and Marcelo seems to be in vacation mode. Same goes for Carvajal over a slow and unfocused Arbeloa.
In the midfield, things are a bit different. Toni Kroos has only been training for two weeks, but it feels like he has been a Madridista for years. The German has shown his talents in just over two hours of playing time. Modrić appears to be focused and in form as well. On the other hand, James isn’t doing his best, but that may be due to him not playing in his natural position. Either way, Ancelotti’s only doubt seems to be whether or not to include Di María, a player that the club wants to sell ASAP.
Up in the attack zone, the ideas are a lot clearer, as the BBC should undoubtedly play. In the tactical part, the team should stick with the 4-3-3 formation to have more ball possession. Madrid was unable to beat Atlético last season in La Liga, as they suffered against their stellar defense. Nevertheless, with the inclusion of Kroos, Los Blancos should be able to find the minimal space to harm Simeone’s men. The lineup will most likely look like this: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrão; Modrić, Kroos, Di María; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Atlético Madrid
Winning La Liga last season was a historic feat for Los Colchoneros, breaking that Madrid-Barcelona domination that hadn’t changed since the 2003-2004 season. Reaching the UEFA Champions League final was also a brilliant achievement that had all of Europe paying attention. This had some consequences, as Filipe Luis and Diego Costa were signed by Chelsea. On top of that, José Mourinho decided to bring Thibaut Courtois back after three incredible years with Atlético Madrid.
With good sales and with the success from last season, the club saw some cash influx that they invested in making the team more competitive. Mandžukić, Siqueira, Griezmann are just some of the men that were signed. Only time will tell if they can help forget about Costa or Filipe Luis, but they are talented players nonetheless. The good preseason record is proof that Atlético don’t plan to go back to being a supporting character in La Liga.
El Cholo Simeone is known for motivating their men very well and asking the best of them. While the new signings still need time to adjust, the team will do everything to win this title. Griezmann already knows how to play against Real and he has even scored at the Bernabéu. It’s unsure whether or not Simeone will vary the tactics from last season. He could go for more ball possession, but the defense will stay strong either way. Atlético have lost that fear against Los Blancos and can easily win this title.
Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid Prediction
With all of his men except Jesé available, Ancelotti will put their best men out. So will El Cholo Simeone. The match will be very entertaining because of their individual talents, the bitter rivalry and the desire to get a good result for the second leg. On top of that, the unresolved conflicts between players of each side should make this a very tense game.
Real will want to dominate the ball and that’s what Atlético usually prefers, since they work better when they need to stay very tight in defense. Both teams are suffering a bit in finding the right system and style to include the new players. In addition, their physical form isn’t the ideal one yet. It should be a tough one.
Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid TV Schedule
The match will be broadcast on ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and its online streaming services. For your local time please check here.
