International Champions Cup: Who Will Be Kings of Madrid This Year?

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

The International Champions Cup continues at pace, with ICC Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid next on the Agenda as the La Liga giants prepare to meet at the New York MetLife Stadium.

This time last year at SBOBET we were pondering which of the Madrid teams would come out on top, we went for Atletico. And so it turned out as Diego Simeone’s team challenged Barcelona at the top of La Liga while Los Blancos lurched from crisis to crisis, before recovering to finish third, but quite a distance behind their rivals.

Zinedine Zidane has returned to the Bernabeu to bring the good times back, or so hopes the Los Blancos’ faithful. In his last stint as Real boss, ZZ oversaw three consecutive Champions League wins, and that’s exactly the sort of success the fans are desperate to see.

The Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid betting odds suggest Los Blancos could have the edge in this game, but Simeone’s team is notoriously hard to beat in any competition.

Talking Points

Hey big spenders…

Both teams have already moved to strengthen in anticipation of the new La Liga season, and Real’s marquee signing Eden Hazard has been joined by Brazilian Rodrygo, striker Luka Jovic and Ferland Mendy. Rodrygo has been likened to a young Neymar, but I’m sure he’ll want to hear his own name ringing around the Bernabeu.

ZZ has spent the thick end of 300 million Euros so far, and Los Rojiblancos are not far behind. They have signed Joao Felix in an eye-watering 126m Euro transfer. It’s the fifth biggest signing in history and one which Simeone will hope will compensate for the departure of Antoine Griezmann. The 19-year-old scored 15 goals in his breakthrough season as Benfica won the Portuguese title.

International Champions Cup: Joao Felix has high expectations after his move to Atletico Madrid — Joao Felix poses with his jersey during his unveiling at Atletico Madrid

Kieran Trippier has joined the Rojiblanco revolution and the former Burnley and Spurs wing-back is delighted to be joining one of the best defensive coaches in the business. Meanwhile, Alvaro Morata has made his move from Chelsea permanent having scored six goals in 17 appearances last season. When his loan period expires, the 26-year-old will complete the move to the Wanda Metropolitano in a 65 million Euro switch in 2020.

Gareth Bale’s shock entrance

Los Blancos were outplayed in their recent ICC clash with Bayern Munich, amidst rumblings of malcontent. Officials at Real Madrid are struggling to shake off the tetchy publicity around Gareth Bale’s seemingly imminent departure from the Bernabeu. ZZ has said Gareth Bale refused to play in the Bayern game, but the ex-Spurs wingman made a surprise appearance in the penalty shootout win over Arsenal at the FedEx Field in Washington. Bale scored a goal as well as making a goal-line clearance, though he did have a penalty saved. I doubt his all-action performance will be enough to win over the fans he seemingly alienated for the best part of last season.

Atleti had a penalty shoot-out win too, beating Guadalajara 5-4 after playing out a goalless draw. Both teams had a player sent off, Marco Llorente seeing Red for a first-half hatchet tackle on Alexis Vega.

In Griezmann’s absence, Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa started upfront, and of the two Morata looked more likely to break the deadlock, while attacking midfielder Saul Niguez looked lively just behind the front two and Kieran Trippier had an impressive 45 minutes.

History

Real Madrid has had the better of the recent head-to-heads, winning nine and drawing nine of the last 24, while Atleti has won six.

So it’s been pretty close, but Atleti hasn’t registered a win in four, losing one and drawing three.

Neither team had a strong finish to last season, nor have they had an electric start to this pre-season, so Los Rojiblancos have won just one in five while Los Blancos have won two.

Betting Tip

	Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid	Atletico Madrid 0.00 @ 2.25
	July 27, 07:30 (GMT+8)

Real Madrid are favourites to win this game at odds of 2.15, with Atleti at 2.95, but I think Simeone will already have instilled the belief into his new defence after the departure of Diego Godin.

Trippier is a good acquisition and can put in a wicked cross, as well as defending his lines. It promises to be a fascinating clash with plenty of creative flair on show from both sides and new faces keen to make an impact.

And who knows? We may even see Gareth Bale again!

Either way, we’ll be right back with the Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid highlights on Saturday.