Thibaut Courtois: 'Derby will be decisive'

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has refused to play down the importance of Sunday's La Liga clash with Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.

Atletico enter the contest currently third in the table, three points behind Los Blancos, who are currently on a 27-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

"Yes [it's like a final]. As they are three points ahead we have no choice but to win and return to the top of the table. It's going to be a tough match because Madrid are playing well," he told AS.

"They hardly concede goals and score two or three every game. We're expecting a great game in the Calderon that we will win. Maybe they found adapting to [Carlo] Ancelotti's ideas difficult, which is normal when a new coach comes in.

"But what you can see is that defensively they are more solid. They don't give much away. Up front they are also looking good."

Atletico have lost four of their last six matches in all competitions.