Two giants of La Liga gear up for the second-biggest derby in Spanish club football after the El Clasico on Saturday, the same day Arsenal take on Manchester United in a mouthwatering Premier League showdown. Also, making the super Saturday grander will be the showdown between two of Germany's biggest football clubs -- Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
For now, let us look at the showdown between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
It's been a while since Real Madrid have been able to beat Atletico following the 90 minutes of stipulated game time. Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo and co beat Diego Simeone's men in the Champions League 2016 final, but it has to be noted that the game was won via penalties, following a 1-1 deadlock after the end of 120 minutes of open play.
Prior to that, Atletico Madrid beat Real 1-0 in a La Liga game at the Santiago Bernabeu in February this year.
This game also gives a chance for Atletico Madrid hotshot striker Antoine Griezmann to show his class yet again in the huge game. The Frenchman has an injury and it needs to be seen whether he can brave the injury and play a role in the game. Also, it needs to be seen whether Griezmann can outshine the likes of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
Cristiano will play for the first time after signing a mega contract extension with the Los Blancos. How high will his morale be now? As for those who wants to witness the famed 'BBC' (Bale-Benzema-Cristiano trio) in action, there is a bad news. While Cristiano and Bale are available to play, Karim Benzema may be not, as he is doubtful owing to a muscle injury he sustained.
Alvaro Morata, meanwhile, is completely unavailable for at least a month for Real Madrid, as he has picked up a grade two muscle injury in his right hamstring during international duty.
Madrid Derby 2016 schedule
Date: November 19
Time: 1:15 am IST (Sunday) [2:45 pm EST, 7:45 pm GMT]
Venue: Vicente Calderon
Points table: 1. Real Madrid (27 points from 11 games)
4. Atletico Madrid (21 points from 11 games)
TV guide: Sony Six, Six HD (India), Sky Sports 5/HD, NOW TV (UK), beIN Sports, fubo TV (USA), Movistar+ (Spain).
