Real Madrid will take on the reigning La Liga, Atletico Madrid, in the Spanish Supercopa tonight.
Real come off of a friendly defeat to Fiorentina, after they claimed a UEFA Supercup victory over Sevilla last week.
Atletico, meanwhile, had a far more successful pre-season campaign, where they were only defeated once, on penalties, after a summer of rebuilding at the Vicente Calderon.
The reigning La Liga champions have been active in the transfer window, where they bought in a total of nine players. Their leading goal scorer, Diego Costa, and first choice left back, Filipe Luis, as well as goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, have departed the club for Chelsea along with the likes of David Silva and Diego Ribas.
Meanwhile, the Los Blancos have made several big-money transfers and brought in Keylor Navas, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez.
The last time these two met, Real ran out winners in the UEFA Champions League final by a 4-1 margin after extra time. Simeone’s men, however, will be trying to replicate their league encounters with their cross-town rivals where they registered a draw and a victory at the Santiago Bernabeau.
All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who seem to be in great form already this season, while Iker Casillas has another chance to prove his first-team status ahead of Keylor Navas.
For Atletico, meanwhile, new attacking stars Griezmann and Mandzukic have their first chance to win the hearts of the Rojiblancos' fans.
Real are the bookmakers favourites for the first leg and one would expect that they will prove to strong for their city rivals in this home-leg of the encounter. The match will begin at 22:55 tonight and the return leg will be played on Friday.
Here is how they will line-up:
Reald Madrid: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Alonso, Kroos; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo
Atletico Madrid: Moyá, Juanfran, Godín, Miranda, Siqueira; Suárez, Gabi, Saúl, Koke; Raúl García, Mandzukic
Who do you think will win the Spanish Supercup? Have your say in the comments section below.
