Los Blancos take on city rivals in the first leg of the Spanish Supercopa tonight, a match nicknamed by the Spanish press as the superderbi.
Summer signings James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos should make their home debuts on front of a packed house at the Santiago Bernabeu, while Keylor Navas will have to settle for a place on the bench after boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Iker Casillas will start.
And the fact Casillas is the number one will give Los Blancos plenty of confidence. AS has an in depth look at the keeper’s record against Atletico, and in 27 matches in which has has started against them he’s never been on the losing side. In addition, Los Rojiblancos’ new forward line of Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic have never scored against Casillas between them.
At the other end of the field, Cristiano Ronaldo has netted 13 times in 14 derby clashes – the last of those being in the final of the Champions League in May.
Elsewhere, Marca has more on the future of Sami Khedira. The German midfielder has been told he can look for a new team and according to the paper his agent is in London to sound out interest from Arsenal and Chelsea. Los Blancos have dropped their asking price to 15 million euros, the paper claims.
