Madrid’s first derby of the 2026/27 campaign arrives at the Metropolitano on Sunday with José Mourinho back in charge of Real Madrid and Diego Simeone preparing Atlético for a meeting that carries early weight in the LaLiga title race.
Key takeaways
- Atlético Madrid host Real Madrid at the Metropolitano on Sunday, 20 September, with kick-off at 11:15 Brasília time.
- The occasion reunites Simeone and Mourinho for the first time in more than 12 years.
- Barcelona moved six points clear of Real Madrid after beating Sevilla, reaching 21 points at the summit.
- Atlético are third on 13 points and could strengthen their own championship challenge with a home victory.
- Julián Álvarez is uncertain for Atlético, while Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy are unavailable to Real Madrid.
A familiar rivalry returns to the Metropolitano
Mourinho was brought back to Spain to put Real Madrid among the trophies again, and this will be his first major clásico since returning to the Bernabéu. Across six previous matches against Simeone, he has recorded three wins, one draw and two defeats: four of those games came during his earlier Real Madrid spell, with the other two played while he was Chelsea manager.
Simeone has two particularly vivid results from that history. Atlético defeated Mourinho’s Chelsea in the 2014 Champions League semi-finals, booking a place in the final before losing to Real Madrid. A year earlier, Atlético beat their city rivals in the Copa del Rey final to lift the cup.
Real travel across the capital needing a response after their midweek defeat at Elche. Barcelona’s Saturday win over Sevilla raised the leaders to 21 points and created a six-point gap over Mourinho’s side, making a derby victory important if Real are to prevent the Catalans from establishing an early break.
For Atlético, the calculation is different but no less significant. Simeone’s team begin the weekend in third place with 13 points, and a win in their own stadium would give their title ambitions greater force.
Selection questions on both sides
Atlético may have to make do without several important figures. Julián Álvarez has missed the past two matches with a muscle issue and is not expected to start if he is involved. Alexander Sørloth and Pablo Barrios are also potential absentees.
Real Madrid are without centre-back Militão, midfielder Rodrygo and left-back Mendy. Otherwise, Mourinho has close to a full group available. Denzel Dumfries could come in for Trent Alexander-Arnold, while a midfield place beside Federico Valverde remains contested, with Bernardo Silva and Aurélien Tchouaméni in consideration.
The likely Atlético side features Jan Oblak; Marcos Llorente, Cristian Romero, Robin Le Normand and Alejandro Grimaldo; Kang-in Lee, Koke, Johnny Cardoso and Álex Baena; Jonathan David and Ademola Lookman.
Real Madrid could line up with Thibaut Courtois; Dumfries, Ibrahima Konaté, Dean Huijsen and Marc Cucurella; Valverde, Tchouaméni and Arda Güler; Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé.
The match will be played at the Metropolitano in Madrid and will be shown on Cazé TV.
