Recommended bets: Madrid derby
2pts Real Madrid to beat Atletico Madrid and both teams to score at 13/5 - Zidane's men primed for crucial week
1pt Alvaro Morata to score first at 9/2 - Spanish poacher boasts best goal-per-minute ratio from either side
LaLiga leaders Real Madrid kick off ademanding and defining set of fixtures with Saturday’s El Derbi against rivals Atletico Madrid.
Zinedine Zidane’s men can ill-afford to let their minds wander towards their midweek Champions League quarter-final first leg with Bayern Munich, with their neighbours back in fine form.
Atletico have also dominated their domestic rivalry over the last three seasons, with Real collecting just two points from their six meetings prior to this season’s triumph at the Vicente Calderon.
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick in that reverse fixture, which came at the ideal time for Real as Atletico arrived on the back of two defeats in three.
Indeed, they’ve endured their fair share of troubles this season as Diego Simeone looks to balance a more entertaining attacking approach with retaining defensive robustness ahead of their stadium move.
While they remain behind their more globally appealing neighbours in the glamour stakes, solidity has returned in recent weeks, conceding just once in a five-match winning run.
The hosts have also won their last five games with the reoccurring contrasts between the two sides clear, scoring more freely than their neighbours but keeping only one clean sheet in that run.
That narrows down the betting options to either backing Real Madrid to win and both teams to score (13/5), the case in 14 of their 22 triumphs, or Atletico to win to nil (8/1), which has occurred in 13 of their 18 victories.
Regular readers will know the 8/1 Atletico to nil is tough to resist but, while Simeone's side will obviously up be for the clash, an elusive Champions League title is their focus as they face a seemingly favourable European tie with Leicester and sit 10 points adrift of their rivals in LaLiga.
With Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema all rested in midweek and Atletico out of the title race but now secure in the top-four, Real’s additional preparation and incentive suggests they are the better of the two bets.
With 17 wins and three draws recorded since Atletico triumphed here back in February, the widely available 4/5 on Real just to win will understandably be in plenty of accumulators on Saturday as they close in on the title.
Zidane's selection will be intriguing after Alvaro Morata strengthened his case for a start with a midweek hat-trick, which leaves him with the best goals-per-minute ratio at the club.
If the Spanish striker does start then he looks good value at 9/2 to net first, while he will probably be an even bigger price in-play as a substitute, so I'll be poised to pounce on the prolific poacher when Zidane makes the call either way.
Posted at 1210 BST on 07/04/17.
