Overview

• Real Madrid sit top after six wins from six in LaLiga, and a victory at Atlético would match Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s seven‑win start record.
• Kylian Mbappé leads the attack with seven league goals and has reached 50 in 64 appearances for Real Madrid.
• Xabi Alonso cautioned against overconfidence, emphasized flexibility and pressing, and said Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga are fit enough to start.
• Vinícius Júnior earned public praise from Alonso after scoring in the 4-1 win at Levante, with the coach saying he likes to see the forward smiling.
• Atlético have won only two of six league games and trail by nine points; Diego Simeone flagged a heavy schedule with just three days’ rest after Rayo, despite Julián Álvarez’s late hat-trick lifting their midweek win, and Real are winless in the last five LaLiga derbies with the last three at the Metropolitano finishing 1-1.