Preview: Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

City rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid will renew hostilities when they meet in Thursday's Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Atleti are bidding to win their fourth Spanish Super Cup, while Los Blancos are aiming to lift it for the 14th time in their illustrious history.

Match preview

Atletico may be unbeaten in five competitive games, but they would have been frustrated with Sunday's 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena.

Alexander Sorloth broke the deadlock against his former club in the 50th minute, only to see his fifth La Liga goal of the season quickly cancelled out by Goncalo Guedes, leaving Atleti to settle for a draw that leaves them in fourth place and 11 points adrift of leaders Barcelona.

As a result, Atleti's realistic hopes of winning the league title for the first time since 2020-21 appear to be gone at the halfway stage of La Liga, meaning that the Spanish Super Cup, Copa del Rey and Champions League will take on extra importance if they want to end their five-year wait for silverware.

Atletico, who are in the Super Cup as a result of last season's third-placed finish, will head to Saudi Arabia with hopes of clinching the trophy for the third time in their history after previously lifting it in 1985 and 2014.

Diego Simeone's side have won just one of their three semi-finals in the four-team format, with that solitary success taking place in 2020 when they beat Barcelona 3-2 before losing on penalties in the final against Real Madrid.

They have since gone on to lose semi-finals to Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid in 2022 and 2024, respectively, suggesting that they have their work cut out to set up a final meeting with Barcelona or Athletic this week.

Los Colchoneros can at least draw upon their experience from the most recent Madrid derby in September, when Julian Alvarez netted a brace in a statement 5-2 victory over Real Madrid at the Metropolitano - the first time that they had scored five goals against their city rivals in nearly 75 years.

Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso has alleviated some of the pressure building on his shoulders with a run of four consecutive victories, including an emphatic 5-1 win in Sunday's home clash against Real Betis despite being without the injured Kylian Mbappe.

Striker Gonzalo Garcia played a starring role in Mbappe's absence, scoring with his right foot, left foot and head to become the youngest player to net a perfect La Liga hat-trick in the 21st century at 21 years and 286 days old.

Raul Asencio and Fran Garcia also got on the scoresheet as Real Madrid cruised to their eighth home win in nine league games, moving the second-placed side back to within four points of Barcelona after the leaders beat Espanyol 2-0 on Saturday.

Alonso can further strengthen his position in the Real Madrid dugout this week, knowing that two wins would secure his first trophy since taking over the reins from Carlo Ancelotti at the end of last season.

Real Madrid, who were heavily beaten by Barcelona in last season's Super Cup final, have lifted the trophy in three of the six seasons of the four-team format - most recently in 2024 when they recorded a 5-3 extra-time win over Atletico before they hammered Barcelona 4-1 in the final.

In fact, Los Blancos have only once failed to make the final of the four-team format, losing 2-1 to Athletic Club in Malaga in the behind-closed-doors Super Cup in 2021.

However, Real Madrid may be slightly concerned by the fact that they have only beaten Atletico in regulation time in just one of their previous seven meetings, while they have not kept a clean sheet in this fixture since they claimed a 2-0 home league win in December 2021.

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Atletico Madrid remain without Clement Lenglet and Nicolas Gonzalez, who will remain in Spain to continue their recovery from knee and hamstring injuries respectively.

Midfielder Pablo Barrios is unlikely to feature in Thursday's semi-final after being forced off at half time on Sunday with a calf problem.

Conor Gallagher, who replaced Barrios at the Reale Arena, could be given the chance to start alongside Koke in central midfield, although Johnny Cardoso is another option for Simeone.

Robin Le Normand is also pushing for a starting spot after coming off the bench at half time against his former club Real Sociedad.

As for Los Blancos, Mbappe will remain in Madrid to continue his recovery from a knee injury that kept him out of the win over Betis.

Eder Militao has also been left out of the travelling party due to a hamstring problem, while Morocco international Brahim Diaz is still away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been included in the squad, although there is considerable doubt as to whether he will be fit to feature in the semi-final and a potential final.

Dean Huijsen could come into the backline if he recovers from the minor injury issue that kept him out of Real Madrid's first game of 2026.

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Le Normand, Hancko; Simeone, Gallagher, Koke, Baena; Sorloth, Alvarez

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Valverde, Huijsen, Rudiger, Carreras; Camavinga, Tchouameni; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Garcia

We say: Atletico Madrid 1-2 Real Madrid

Real Madrid will be looking to get revenge for September's heavy league defeat against Atletico, and while they may be without Mbappe, Saturday's win over Betis proved that the team still has an array of attacking talent at their disposal, and we think that they will do just enough to see off their local rivals in Thursday's semi-final.

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