Cristiano Ronaldo's record vs. Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid play host to city neighbours Atletico Madrid this weekend with the aim of keeping alive their ambitions of a runners-up finish in La Liga.

The reigning champions have long since given up hope of catching Barcelona at the summit, but they are now within four points of second-placed Atleti.

On the back of his stunning display against Juventus in the Champions League last time out, all eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo as he looks certain to start against Los Rojiblancos despite a quick turnaround in games.

Here, Sports Mole looks at Ronaldo's record in this fixture during his near-decade in the Spanish capital.

Only against Barcelona has Ronaldo featured more regularly during his career, having lined up against Atletico on 30 previous occasions - exactly half of those in the league.

The Portugal international needed four attempts in the league before getting off the mark in this high-profile game, as he netted a brace in a 4-1 victory for his side at the Bernabeu.

That was followed up by a hat-trick in the reverse fixture, and he would go on to make it six goals in six league outings the following season.

Ronaldo has scored in just three of nine league matches against Atletico since then, though, albeit with a hat-trick in one of those games, which by his high standards is a slightly underwhelming return.

Throw the forward's cup record against Diego Simeone's charges into the mix, however, and that return starts to look a lot more impressive - 21 goals in 30 matches, including a hat-trick in last season's Champions League semi-final and the concluding goal in the 2013-14 final.