Both of these sides rested key players in their respective Copa del Rey wins at the weekend and should therefore be fresh for this mini-tournament. As such, there could be a fairly open feel to this game with plenty of goals, probably at either end. Interestingly, 50% of the games which these teams have been involved in this season have seen both find the net, and something similar is expected.

Since comfortably losing the El Derbi Madrileño, Ancelotti’s side have won sixteen and drawn three of their nineteen matches in all competitions and are firing on all cylinders. They have already secured passage to the Last 16 of the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, where they will again meet Simeone’s side, and it now looks like a two-horse race with Girona for the La Liga title.

Atletico Madrid meanwhile have been very hit-and-miss since the derby win, losing three of their last nine matches. Significantly, those three defeats came against Girona, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, all of which are key rivals in the race to secure Champions League football next season and it remains to be seen how highly Simeone has this particular competition on his list of priorities.

With this one expected to be an explosive affair, we could see a fair few shots on target for both teams. In fact, these two rank 2nd and 3rd in La Liga in this metric, with Real Madrid amassing 117 and Atletico Madrid having 100 in their nineteen league fixtures, an average of 6.16 and 5.26 per game. Looking at the likely candidates here, the in-form Rodrygo and Alvaro Morata make the most appeal.

Following the departure of Karim Benzema in the summer, Rodrygo has really stepped up to the plate and continues to deliver alongside compatriot Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian has now scored eleven in his twenty-six matches this campaign, with six of those coming in his last nine games. Averaging 1.28 shots on target per 90 minutes, he backed to get involved, especially given his form.

Atletico Madrid’s talisman is enjoying one of the best goalscoring seasons of his career with a hat trick last time out against Girona taking his tally to seventeen in all competitions. The former Real Madrid player also scored against his old club in the derby and is averaging 1.57 shots on target per 90 minutes in the league this term. Morata’s fancied for a big game and is taken to test the goalkeeper.

Real Madrid certainly rank highly when it comes to the corner count, something which is a product of their high possession statistics as they average 59.4% of the ball per game (compared to 51.7% for Atletico Madrid). Ancelotti’s side have won a total of 119 corners in their nineteen league matches this season, an average of 6.26 and they are fancied to outperform their opponents in this particular match.

Taking Real Madrid to win five or six corners during the course of 90 minutes is more than achievable, especially when you consider that only a stubborn Alaves side have prevented them from reaching at least five during their last eight matches. With the likes of Fran Garcia and Daniel Carvajal overlapping from the full-back areas, the corner count could quickly rack up here and that’s definitely the sensible play.

Real Madrid are also taken on the Corner Match Bet market. Their league average of 6.26 is better than their opponents who average an inferior 4.63, which comes as no surprise as they employ a more compact system with minimal width. Furthermore, during the last five head-to-head matches between these sides, Real Madrid have won this particular market in four of those, and that’s a solid selection.