Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid: Three key battles to look for in the Channel of the UEFA Champions League of 16 Derby Clash

Real Madrid will host a rival in the city of Atletico during the first stage of its ring in the champions league of 16 clashes at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Tuesday (Wednesday according to IST).

The two heavyweights of Madrid were in good shape and are separated by only two points in the League classification, with second place with 56 points and Atletico in third with 54.

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The two teams boosting a starry program, the match will have many interesting sub -intrigues.

Sportstar looks at three key battles which can be essential in the course of the 16 -year competition.

Eduardo Camavonga vs Rodrigo de Paul

It will be one of the most crucial battles in the middle of the park, where experience meets young blood. Rodrigo de Paul, the main midfielder’s engine in Diego Simeone’s outfit, will be crucial to dictate the tempo of the Atletico midfielder, but will have a task in the hand to try to contain the Eduardo Camavonga de Real, who, of his time, can be just as capable of defending and contributing to the attack.

File – EDUARDO CAMAVERGA DU REAL Madrid launches the ball during the Spanish football match of Copa del Rey between the Real Sociedade and Real Madrid at the Reale Arena de San Sebastian, Spain, Wednesday, February 26, 2025.

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Primary used by Carlo Ancelotti to break the opposition attacks, Camavong is used to finding good spaces in the last third and to mark the occasional objective. Paul’s work would be to make sure that Camavong does not take advantage of too much space to function, which would allow the French to spread the ball to the line before by Vinicius JR, Kylian Mbappe and Roddrygo.

Kylian Mbappe vs Robin the Normand

One of the biggest pre-match games in Simeone would be to design a plan to restrict Kylian Mbappe as much as possible. With a stocky pace and a range of skills in his arsenal, he can alone change a match in favor of Real as he did with his hat -trick against Manchester City in their playoff game. Trying to contain Mbappe is a great demand for any defender and in this confrontation, Simeone is most likely to charge Robin the Normand with the difficult task.

One of the biggest challenges in the Norman would be to monitor Mbappe’s runoff behind the defense. He would also need to be wary of the head-on-one battles where Mbappe would always be the favorite to overcome his marker.

Antonio Rudiger vs Antoine Griezmann

Antonio Rudiger had a difficult outing while Real Madrid lost against Real Betis for the first time in five years. The central rear, known for his solid style of defense without frills, could not anticipate any opposition movement while Madrid moved against Betis. He would surely seek to do better against Atletico, and his potential battle against Antoine Griezmann should be exciting.

Griezmann can score goals, create goals and also do the dirty job for his team. Its main intention would be to force Rudiger to make mistakes and to keep it away from its position to create empty spaces in the last third, which can create notation opportunities.