The sixth round in Spain will continue on Sunday with the focus, of course, on the big Madrid derby where Atlético will host Real. After the victory over Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Villarreal will host Sevilla for another meeting between two of Spain’s representatives in Europe.
Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid (22:00)
While Atlético Madrid falters and stutters, the Blancos keep winning and the champion will come to this derby as a favorite, certainly in light of the ability she displays. The injury of Karim Benzema, who will be absent this time as well, does not stop Ancelotti’s team, which after five rounds is the only one with a perfect record. Last Wednesday, Real also maintained a perfect record in the Champions League with a 0:2 home win over Leipzig with goals from Valverde and Asensio. On the other hand, Atlético’s football is much less fluid. After scraping a two-goal extra-time win over Porto, Simeone’s side lost 2-0 to Leverkusen in the Champions League last Tuesday.
Atletico have had two tough tests so far in the league and in both they stumbled with a loss against Villarreal and a draw against Sociedad. In the last league meeting between the two, Atlético broke a very long drought against their sworn rival with a 0:1 victory from a Carrasco goal. When was the previous victory of Atlético over Real in the league? Somewhere in February 2016. Simeone has a headache in defense since Jimenez and Savic are injured, which will probably force him to continue to start with Witsel in the center of defense.
Villarreal – Sevilla (17:15)
After suffering a debut loss in the league against Betis, Villarreal came back to win precisely at the expense of Hapoel Beer Sheva in the group stage of the Conference League. Three days after being in Israel, the yellow submarine hosts a familiar opponent that has weakened greatly this summer and is also faltering in the Champions League. Sevilla, who sold their two top stoppers in the summer, managed to stop a streak of 3 consecutive losses in the past cycle but their loss in Valencia will drop them below the red line. The injured Brazilian stopper Markao will continue to be absent, while Gerard Moreno will miss Unai Emery, who received Danjuma back in the match against Beer Sheva.
More games in the first:
Osasuna – Getafe (15:00)
Real Betis – Girona (19:30)
Real Sociedad – Espanyol (19:30)