WRITTEN BY ADAM (@AdamLaLiga)
Extracted from La Liga weekend preview
The best Derby in the World makes its first appearance of the 2015-16 La Liga season as Simeone's Atleti host Los Blancos at the Vicente Calderon in a Madrid Derby that is Benitez's biggest test yet as coach of Real Madrid.
Both sides head into this Madrid Derby on a low because Week 6 wasn't really a good warm up for this Derby as both sides failed to win with Atleti losing 1-0 on the East Coast to the Yellow Submarine and Los Blancos only managing a 0-0 draw at Santiago Bernabeu against struggling Malaga.
The result of the weekend last weekend was Atleti's defeat on the East Coast because despite the Yellow Submarine's fantastic start to the season they'd not played anyone of real note yet until Atleti came to town and considering Atleti won this fixture last season and haven't lost to the Yellow Submarine in five years it looked like an Atleti win for sure.
Simeone even started with one of his new strikers up top with Griezmann too in Jackson Martinez too and Marcelino couldn't start with Bakambu or Adrian due to injury so could only play Leo Baptistao on loan from Atleti up top alongside Soldado.
So the Yellow Submarine weren't full strength but Simeone and his Atleti side were and even if both sides were full strength Atleti are still the better side and a level above in class and quality and with excellent ammunition bought in the summer behind them too.
It was a surprise that Atleti lost an away game like this because it's the type of game you need to win if you're aiming to win the title but it's more the way the first goal was conceded and the manner in which they lost the game in which I want to look at.
The Yellow Submarine have produced wonderful attacking football this season and some of their goals including the one against Atleti have been sublime, it's been the ball through in behind a defence with one touch football and then shoot, one touch then shoot and it's even worked against a Simeone side.
The goal Atleti conceded isn't one you concede often because a Simeone Atleti side aren't as open defensively as they were for that Baptistao goal last Saturday night, it's not easy to break them down at all so to be able to play a ball through in behind them is a rare thing!
Simeone will be fuming to concede a goal like that but as I mentioned the manner in which they lost in was concerning because for me if Atleti lose a game they'll lose it by going down fighting and they didn't do that at El Madrigal.
Atleti by their standards were weak, lacklustre and without their usual fight and going forward in the final third I never even felt like they were going to score, they created so little and never looked a threat and considering their performance at the Pizjuan against Sevilla in Week 2 it's two different Atleti's in two big games against sides outside last season's top four.
Atleti have lost two games already this season and we've only played six games and it really will be a poor start to the season in my opinion if they lose this Madrid Derby because to lose three games from your first seven for a side in the top four is poor.
I wasn't one of those who tipped Atleti for the title at the start of the season because despite their wonderful signings this summer they're still a level or two behind Barca and Los Blancos but already this season has shown that they could be fortunate.
Barca aren't playing well, Los Blancos have failed fired blanks and drawn away to Gijon and at home to Malaga so you can say everything's falling for Atleti, they won't win the title but in my opinion they'll challenge for it and we're set for a truly pulsating title race this season.
Atleti's new players will take time to gel so I do expect them to finish third again this season but their new players will have gelled come the second half of the season so a Semi-Final appearance in the Champions League if they avoid Barca and Los Blancos in the draw will happen.
In the Primera though they'll be in a fight to finish in the top three/top four with Sevilla and Valencia because both of those will improve and reach last season's level at the minimum and the Yellow Submarine will this season be involved if they don't fade in the second half of the season which they did last season.
Los Blancos have had a mixed start to this season and their season so far is confusing because they've produced some good results and then slipped up against the lesser sides in the Primera and failed to win which in turn has produced poor results by doing so.
Los Blancos sit third heading into this Madrid Derby and are two points off the pace in the title race and one point behind Champions Barca but they really really should be heading into this Madrid Derby as league leaders.
Drawing away at Gijon in Asturias in Week 1 was a poor result but since then Los Blancos have been excellent defensively and picked up the points by beating Betis 5-0 at home, beating Espanyol 6-0 away from home, grinding out a 1-0 home win over Granada and then beating Bilbao 2-1 away at San Mames in the Basque Country in Week 5 in a fixture which they lost last season.
Beating Bilbao was a fantastic result and not just because they lost that fixture last season and it's been a sticking point for them in recent seasons but because Benitez's tinkering and tactical knowhow in the big games came good for Los Blancos.
Benitez impressed many by playing with three holding midfielders at San Mames and it worked fantastically well allowing Los Blancos to be solid in a big game and be able to control the game more.
Without key players in attack to win at San Mames was a fantastic result and the result was even sweeter when they conceded their first goal of the season under Benitez but managed to respond almost instantly to secure the three points.
Los Blancos then headed into the game against a Malaga side at home at Santiago Bernabeu and were league leaders and everything was rosy, I mean it's only Malaga who've still yet to score this season and are in the bottom three.
Los Blancos dominated the game but were caught open a few times by a Malaga side who played well but their poor finishing and another brilliant performance from Keylor Navas in the Los Blancos goal saw Benitez's side record a clean sheet.
Los Blancos have five clean sheets from their six games in the Primera this season so far and haven't conceded in the Santiago Bernabeu this season in all competitions either so it's a fantastic achievement by Benitez and his players.
Los Blancos were very unlucky against Malaga because they had two goals disallowed, one of which crossed the line and a very poor referee and linesman couldn't even see it or give it so Los Blancos can feel hard done by.
At El Molinon in Week 1 against Gijon they were also not given a clear penalty so this 'Real Madrid' get help from the officials in La Liga and Tebas the president of the league is giving Los Blancos officials who help them needs to stop, it's nonsense'.
If anything Tebas is doing is his own side no favours with the truly dreadful officials that's in the Primera and when you get a really bad one you get a really really bad one and we've seen it too many times.
Los Blancos did still need to do more against Malaga though but they did enough to win the game they were just unlucky but Benitez does need to take some flak in my opinion because he only used one sub and that was to bring Kovacic one, why is Lucas Vazquez staying on the bench when he's already shown this season he can open up a defence and stretch them, why leave him on the bench in a game like this Benitez?
Benitez has done a great job so far I like the guy and I'm really pleased with how he has this Los Blancos playing and set up, they're much more balanced and much more solid and overall a better side under him in my opinion but he's not immune from any flak.
Benitez has only had one big test so far as Los Blancos coach and he's passed it at San Mames and his tinkering and tactical brilliance in the big games saw Los Blancos successful and claim three huge points which could prove the difference in the title race come May.
The El Clasico is in November and that'll be another massive test for him but this Madrid Derby at the Calderon is his biggest test yet as Los Blancos coach and it's levels higher than Bilbao away at San Mames believe me.
Ancelotti couldn't get the better of Atleti in his time in charge of Los Blancos apart from the Champions League final in Lisbon and needed a stoppage time goal to force extra-time to get the better of Atleti in the end in that one.
Benitez must find a way of getting the better of Atleti because Atleti love getting the better of Los Blancos and so does Simeone and his men know exactly how to get under the skin of this Los Blancos side and they know how to beat them too.
Atleti come into this one after Wednesday night's Spanish-Portuguese Clash which is always a great affair in the Champions League as they host Benfica at the Calderon whilst Benitez takes his Los Blancos side to Sweden on Wednesday night to take on Malmo.
This fixture at the Calderon ended 4-0 last season to Atleti but with Simeone setting his Atleti side up as he always does and that's to be hard to break down, organised and up for a fight and Benitez will set his Los Blancos side up the same too and this Madrid Derby from a tactical point of view alone is nothing short of fascinating, it really is.
Atleti have won three and drawn one of the last four Madrid Derbies in the Primera and Los Blancos haven't beaten Atleti in the Madrid Derby in the Primera since April 2013 where they won 2-1 at the Calderon.
Los Blancos have a good record in the Madrid Derbies at the Calderon though and despite losing last season and drawing the one before that they've won 8 of the 11 Madrid Derbies at the Calderon in the Primera.
Los Blancos had poor preparation for this one and the 0-0 draw against Malaga saw them fail to score at the Bernabeu for the first time in three years whilst Atleti suffered an away defeat to the Yellow Submarine on the East Coast in a game where they lacked quality in the final third and weren't their usual selves, this Madrid Derby is the tightest and the hardest to predict in years in my opinion but it will be a cracker for sure.
Final prediction (Mikey): Atletico Madrid 0-1 Real Madrid
Final prediction (Adil): Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Madrid
This preview was written by Adam Howl, our Spanish football expert, extracted from the La Liga weekend preview. Read more in the full La Liga weekend preview.
TSM Matchday will feature TheSportMatrix's coverage of a huge day of football across the top European leagues. For more information click here.
Extracted from La Liga weekend preview
 |
| Image: IbiTimes.com |
Both sides head into this Madrid Derby on a low because Week 6 wasn't really a good warm up for this Derby as both sides failed to win with Atleti losing 1-0 on the East Coast to the Yellow Submarine and Los Blancos only managing a 0-0 draw at Santiago Bernabeu against struggling Malaga.
The result of the weekend last weekend was Atleti's defeat on the East Coast because despite the Yellow Submarine's fantastic start to the season they'd not played anyone of real note yet until Atleti came to town and considering Atleti won this fixture last season and haven't lost to the Yellow Submarine in five years it looked like an Atleti win for sure.
Simeone even started with one of his new strikers up top with Griezmann too in Jackson Martinez too and Marcelino couldn't start with Bakambu or Adrian due to injury so could only play Leo Baptistao on loan from Atleti up top alongside Soldado.
So the Yellow Submarine weren't full strength but Simeone and his Atleti side were and even if both sides were full strength Atleti are still the better side and a level above in class and quality and with excellent ammunition bought in the summer behind them too.
It was a surprise that Atleti lost an away game like this because it's the type of game you need to win if you're aiming to win the title but it's more the way the first goal was conceded and the manner in which they lost the game in which I want to look at.
The Yellow Submarine have produced wonderful attacking football this season and some of their goals including the one against Atleti have been sublime, it's been the ball through in behind a defence with one touch football and then shoot, one touch then shoot and it's even worked against a Simeone side.
The goal Atleti conceded isn't one you concede often because a Simeone Atleti side aren't as open defensively as they were for that Baptistao goal last Saturday night, it's not easy to break them down at all so to be able to play a ball through in behind them is a rare thing!
 |
Atleti by their standards were weak, lacklustre and without their usual fight and going forward in the final third I never even felt like they were going to score, they created so little and never looked a threat and considering their performance at the Pizjuan against Sevilla in Week 2 it's two different Atleti's in two big games against sides outside last season's top four.
Atleti have lost two games already this season and we've only played six games and it really will be a poor start to the season in my opinion if they lose this Madrid Derby because to lose three games from your first seven for a side in the top four is poor.
I wasn't one of those who tipped Atleti for the title at the start of the season because despite their wonderful signings this summer they're still a level or two behind Barca and Los Blancos but already this season has shown that they could be fortunate.
Barca aren't playing well, Los Blancos have failed fired blanks and drawn away to Gijon and at home to Malaga so you can say everything's falling for Atleti, they won't win the title but in my opinion they'll challenge for it and we're set for a truly pulsating title race this season.
Atleti's new players will take time to gel so I do expect them to finish third again this season but their new players will have gelled come the second half of the season so a Semi-Final appearance in the Champions League if they avoid Barca and Los Blancos in the draw will happen.
In the Primera though they'll be in a fight to finish in the top three/top four with Sevilla and Valencia because both of those will improve and reach last season's level at the minimum and the Yellow Submarine will this season be involved if they don't fade in the second half of the season which they did last season.
Los Blancos have had a mixed start to this season and their season so far is confusing because they've produced some good results and then slipped up against the lesser sides in the Primera and failed to win which in turn has produced poor results by doing so.
Los Blancos sit third heading into this Madrid Derby and are two points off the pace in the title race and one point behind Champions Barca but they really really should be heading into this Madrid Derby as league leaders.
Drawing away at Gijon in Asturias in Week 1 was a poor result but since then Los Blancos have been excellent defensively and picked up the points by beating Betis 5-0 at home, beating Espanyol 6-0 away from home, grinding out a 1-0 home win over Granada and then beating Bilbao 2-1 away at San Mames in the Basque Country in Week 5 in a fixture which they lost last season.
Beating Bilbao was a fantastic result and not just because they lost that fixture last season and it's been a sticking point for them in recent seasons but because Benitez's tinkering and tactical knowhow in the big games came good for Los Blancos.
Benitez impressed many by playing with three holding midfielders at San Mames and it worked fantastically well allowing Los Blancos to be solid in a big game and be able to control the game more.
Without key players in attack to win at San Mames was a fantastic result and the result was even sweeter when they conceded their first goal of the season under Benitez but managed to respond almost instantly to secure the three points.
Los Blancos then headed into the game against a Malaga side at home at Santiago Bernabeu and were league leaders and everything was rosy, I mean it's only Malaga who've still yet to score this season and are in the bottom three.
Los Blancos dominated the game but were caught open a few times by a Malaga side who played well but their poor finishing and another brilliant performance from Keylor Navas in the Los Blancos goal saw Benitez's side record a clean sheet.
Los Blancos have five clean sheets from their six games in the Primera this season so far and haven't conceded in the Santiago Bernabeu this season in all competitions either so it's a fantastic achievement by Benitez and his players.
Los Blancos were very unlucky against Malaga because they had two goals disallowed, one of which crossed the line and a very poor referee and linesman couldn't even see it or give it so Los Blancos can feel hard done by.
At El Molinon in Week 1 against Gijon they were also not given a clear penalty so this 'Real Madrid' get help from the officials in La Liga and Tebas the president of the league is giving Los Blancos officials who help them needs to stop, it's nonsense'.
 |
| Image: SkySports.com |
If anything Tebas is doing is his own side no favours with the truly dreadful officials that's in the Primera and when you get a really bad one you get a really really bad one and we've seen it too many times.
Los Blancos did still need to do more against Malaga though but they did enough to win the game they were just unlucky but Benitez does need to take some flak in my opinion because he only used one sub and that was to bring Kovacic one, why is Lucas Vazquez staying on the bench when he's already shown this season he can open up a defence and stretch them, why leave him on the bench in a game like this Benitez?
Benitez has done a great job so far I like the guy and I'm really pleased with how he has this Los Blancos playing and set up, they're much more balanced and much more solid and overall a better side under him in my opinion but he's not immune from any flak.
Benitez has only had one big test so far as Los Blancos coach and he's passed it at San Mames and his tinkering and tactical brilliance in the big games saw Los Blancos successful and claim three huge points which could prove the difference in the title race come May.
The El Clasico is in November and that'll be another massive test for him but this Madrid Derby at the Calderon is his biggest test yet as Los Blancos coach and it's levels higher than Bilbao away at San Mames believe me.
Ancelotti couldn't get the better of Atleti in his time in charge of Los Blancos apart from the Champions League final in Lisbon and needed a stoppage time goal to force extra-time to get the better of Atleti in the end in that one.
Benitez must find a way of getting the better of Atleti because Atleti love getting the better of Los Blancos and so does Simeone and his men know exactly how to get under the skin of this Los Blancos side and they know how to beat them too.
 |
This fixture at the Calderon ended 4-0 last season to Atleti but with Simeone setting his Atleti side up as he always does and that's to be hard to break down, organised and up for a fight and Benitez will set his Los Blancos side up the same too and this Madrid Derby from a tactical point of view alone is nothing short of fascinating, it really is.
Atleti have won three and drawn one of the last four Madrid Derbies in the Primera and Los Blancos haven't beaten Atleti in the Madrid Derby in the Primera since April 2013 where they won 2-1 at the Calderon.
Los Blancos have a good record in the Madrid Derbies at the Calderon though and despite losing last season and drawing the one before that they've won 8 of the 11 Madrid Derbies at the Calderon in the Primera.
Los Blancos had poor preparation for this one and the 0-0 draw against Malaga saw them fail to score at the Bernabeu for the first time in three years whilst Atleti suffered an away defeat to the Yellow Submarine on the East Coast in a game where they lacked quality in the final third and weren't their usual selves, this Madrid Derby is the tightest and the hardest to predict in years in my opinion but it will be a cracker for sure.
Final prediction (Mikey): Atletico Madrid 0-1 Real Madrid
Final prediction (Adil): Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Madrid
This preview was written by Adam Howl, our Spanish football expert, extracted from the La Liga weekend preview. Read more in the full La Liga weekend preview.
TSM Matchday will feature TheSportMatrix's coverage of a huge day of football across the top European leagues. For more information click here.
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