High-flying Real Madrid will face city rivals Atletico Madrid in a much-awaited derby clash on matchday 17 of the Spanish La Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Sunday.

Los Blancos are one of the most in-form teams in Europe and are currently placed on top of the league table with 39 points after 16 matches played, eight ahead of second-placed Sevilla.

They are also on an 11-match winning streak in all competitions and therefore, they will enter the contest against their city rivals in high confidence.

On the other hand, Atletico will come in the match feeling good about themselves after securing their spot in the round-of-16 in the UEFA Champions League in a dramatic manner where they defeated Portuguese club FC Porto with the score of 3-1, despite being outplayed in most of the match.

On the domestic front, Los Rojiblancos are currently placed in the fifth position on the league table with 29 points, largely because of just winning three out of the last seven matches.

Manager Diego Simeone will be hoping to see his players producing a much better display against the league leaders.

Head-to-head:

Both teams have met 168 times in the history of La Liga where Real have a clear edge with 89 wins compared to Atletico’s 40 whereas 39 matches ended as a draw.

In the last 10 matches across all competitions between the teams, Real won four, five were drawn and Atletico managed to win just once.

Team news:

Real Madrid:

Real Madrid have a relatively fitter squad and the only player they must be concerned about is star striker Karim Benzema.

The French international limped off in the match against Sevilla and did not take part in the fixture against Inter Milan in the midweek.

It is widely reported that Benzema has started training once again but it will be interesting to see if he will take part in the contest.

Other than him, midfielder Dani Cabellos is unlikely to take part in the match as well.

Atletico Madrid:

Atletico Madrid are expected to miss some key players against the city rivals which will make things hard for manager Diego Simeone.

Los Rojiblancos’ star forward Luis Suarez is unlikely to feature as he is suffering from a muscle injury. Right-back Sime Vrsaljko will not be available as well as he continues his recovery from a facial fracture.

Other than them, centre-back José María Giménez and right-back Kieran Trippier’s participation remains doubtful as well.