Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid | La Liga GW 23 | OneFootball

The first Madrid derby of the season was a memorable one, but not for the reasons one would expect it to have been.

The game between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid appeared set to end in a win for the men in white at the Civitas Metropolitano when play had to be suspended as fans began throwing objects on the field.

The players made their way off the field prematurely and the game eventually restarted after a short hiatus.

Real Madrid did well to hold off the pressure from the host side but caved in when the clock struck 93 and thus dropped two points.

Tomorrow night, the reverse fixture sees the two Spanish giants lock horns at the Santiago Bernabeu. This time, however, they are the two top teams in the league standings.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid.

One for the title race

Real Madrid were four points clear of Atletico Madrid and seven points ahead of FC Barcelona just over a week ago in La Liga.

At the time, Los Blancos appeared to have stabilized in the driver’s seat after the Blaugrana collapsed in La Liga and seemingly had the title race in their grip.

An unexpected and controversial defeat to Espanyol, however, changed everything and threw the title race wide open in just one weekend.

Having dropped three points in their last La Liga game, Real Madrid are now on 49 points after 22 league games. While they are still leaders, their opponents tomorrow – Atletico Madrid – trail them by just a point.

A defeat to Diego Simeone’s men at the Santiago Bernabeu, thus, will see Real Madrid concede their spot at the top of the table and potentially sit just one point ahead of Barcelona.

It is thus clear that a lot rides on the result of the derby tomorrow. After all, it will decide how the title race shapes up for a Real Madrid win and can put them four points clear at the top.

Key stars return

Back in the squad and ready to go. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

Carlo Ancelotti and co. rested several key stars ahead of their midweek clash against Leganes in the Copa del Rey and managed to return with a semifinal berth thanks to a last-minute goal by Gonzalo Garcia.

Kylian Mbappe, Thibaut Courtois, and Jude Bellingham were all left out of the squad on the night with the derby in mind as the manager wanted the duo to be at their 100% physically. Further, the likes of Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Jr started on the bench.

Mbappe, Courtois, and Bellingham are available for tomorrow’s game in what comes as a massive boost for the men in white and their chances against Los Rojiblancos.

All three players are expected to walk back into the manager’s starting lineup at the Bernabeu and will be critical components of Ancelotti’s plan to dismantle the local rivals.

It will be a special game for Mbappe, in particular, as it will be his first Madrid derby as a Real Madrid player. He missed the reverse fixture owing to an injury.

In further updates, Eduardo Camavinga has also been given the medical all-clear and is a candidate to feature as a pivot if Aurelien Tchouameni is deployed in defence. His chance of starting after immediately coming back from injury, however, is doubtful.

Defence on centre-stage

The biggest concern for the men in white heading into one of the league’s biggest fixtures is their situation at the back for it is anything but pretty.

If Eder Militao’s long-term injury was not enough, David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger are also unavailable tomorrow in what is a big setback for the team’s plans.

Ancelotti granted the academy stars Jacobo Ramon and Raul Asencio a start together in the team’s cup game earlier this week. While the latter kept up his standards, the former struggled and will likely not play tomorrow.

It thus appears that Tchouameni is likely to partner Asencio at the back, but it is clear that the Frenchman has been atrocious in defense on the big nights with El Clasico being the premier example.

The centre-back problem is only compounded by Lucas Vazquez’s shakiness and injury troubles at right-back for the veteran has also not convinced in big games.

Ancelotti thus has serious questions to answer in defence, and the outcome of the derby could well depend on those micro-choices.