‘Dangerous derby’ awaits as Real travel to Atletico for last meeting with Madrid rivals at Vicente Calderon

It is Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid on Saturday night, fourth v first in the Primera Liga and the last Madrid league derby at the Vicente Calderon. Modern day Real Madrid stars will not be unhappy about that given their recent form there. Not many teams beat them 4-0, as Atletico did last February.

Modern day Atletico players will be glad of an opportunity to partially avenge a second Uefa Champions League final defeat in three years by their neighbours. The last time the clubs met was in May's Milan final, though last weekend saw 11,000 shirt-wearing fans of both teams mixing on the streets of the Spanish capital in a 10-kilometre road race.

Talking about the defeat in Milan, midfielder Koke told Marca: "These things stay with you your whole life. But they will make us stronger. Every Atletico fan wants to win a Champions League, this group deserves it for all it has battled. It is not that we are owed a Champions League, but we deserve it."

• Andy Mitten: Barcelona's mesmeric Lionel Messi shows no signs of slowing even after 500 goals

Koke has shifted position this season to a more central role. He is a key player behind Antoine Griezmann, yet Atletico have lost two of their last three matches – away to Sevilla and Real Sociedad – and slipped to fourth in the table.

Real have had good news ahead of the match. Toni Kroos is still out injured but Sergio Ramos, who last played on September 27, is closer to returning to play having started training again as he recovers from a knee injury. Fellow defender Pepe has a hamstring problem and has not been training with the rest of the squad, while Karim Benzema and Casemiro, a key player in Zinedine Zidane’s plans, are still recovering.

The exceptional Luca Modric is also back, and was superb for Croatia against Iceland on a heavy pitch in a 2018 World Cup qualifier last week. The midfielder’s stock continues to rise, with even Atletico captain Gabi this week describing him as Real’s best player. “He’s the one who makes them play and gives the team balance,” he said. “We’ll try to counter his playmaking skills.” Zidane will be wary. Real rushed players back for the clasico a year ago and were hammered 4-0 at home by Barcelona.

It is Zidane’s first real test of the season, for Atletico, Sevilla and Barca have already played each other; Real have not faced any of the best three teams in Spain yet.

The Frenchman has a clear best XI, yet he has had to contend with so many injuries this season that he has been unable to field it. It is to his credit that Real sit top of La Liga as the only unbeaten team in Spain’s top two divisions.

Leading the league a month ago, Atletico will slip nine points behind their neighbours if they lose for the third time in a month. At least they will have Griezmann, their best player, back after picking up a foot injury for France against Sweden on Friday that saw him released by his national team.

“It is a dangerous derby,” Koke said. “We cannot let the gap get bigger. We need to draw at least so that they do not go further ahead. In our head we are thinking about winning the game, as always.”

Koke, who was away with Spain for their international games against Macedonia and England, conceded that results have been mixed so far this season.

“We were leaders, we lost at Sevilla and we dropped to fifth place,” the lifelong Atleti fan said. “It is a bit crazy. In the first international break there was talk of relegation, in the second we were top, and now there are these doubts floating around.”

Diego Simeone and his players will be doing all that they can to make sure they do not slip further behind. Zidane knows all about the dangers: his last defeat as Real manager was against Atletico in February.

Gus Poyet sacked by Real Betis – but the man they call ‘Radio’ is tuned into football

Gus Poyet is as passionate as he is opinionated and outspoken. Not for nothing is he known as “Radio” because he is always speaking, usually about football.

This is a man who, as Sunderland manager, was accosted on the streets of Newcastle by a rival fan and actually enjoyed that the man had the energy and feeling to tell him what he thought about him. It wasn’t complimentary either.

That passion and hardness was one reason why Real Betis made the Uruguayan their manager in the summer. He was welcomed after doing well last term in Greece with AEK Athens, another club where he needed his senses fully alert in the maelstrom of Greek football. He loved it.

He did not have the chance to grow to love Betis. Eleven league games and only 11 points later, the former Chelsea midfielder was sacked. Betis are not bottom of the Primera Liga table, but 14th, slightly below their average league position last season. Fans hoped for more after a summer when they brought in several expensive new players.

Unhappy with his style of football and the team losing twice as many games as they had won, fans said they were going to protest if the Uruguayan wasn’t sacked, issuing a statement which declared: “Either Poyet goes or we go.”

What did he do wrong? Well, he was honest about Betis’ plight, about what he considered a negative attitude at the club and how he hoped to change things once he had worked through “200,000 problems”.

Maybe he was too honest for fans reared on being told how great they are. Pushing the hugely popular top scorer Ruben Castro to the wing and onto the bench did his popularity no favours, nor did a 6-1 home defeat to Real Madrid, or 6-2 drubbing at Barcelona. But 11 games is not enough on which to judge any manager.

Two of those matches were against Barcelona and Real Madrid, one was at Sevilla and another at a fourth top six side, Real Sociedad. Betis had played five of the top six teams, plus Valencia away. These were mitigating factors in Poyet’s favour, but the fans would hear none of it.

Betis, one of only nine teams to have won La Liga, dismissed Poyet on Friday, the sixth man they have sacked in three years. He has been replaced by former Real Madrid midfielder Victor Sanchez. Given the propensity for change at Spain’s fifth best-supported club, Sanchez will not be looking to buy a house in the area just yet.

Poyet, 49, has returned home to be with family near London. Several of his friends, including former Chelsea teammate Roberto di Matteo, are disillusioned with football and do not plan to return to management any time soon.

Poyet does not feel the same way. He has been sacked before and he has bounced back. A football addict, he will be back again.

Player of the week

Sevilla’s all-action striker Vitolo, 27, was Spain’s best player in their 4-0 victory over Macedonia. He is fast, direct and offers a physical prowess which would make him suitable in England’s Premier League, where he is often linked. He cost a bargain €3 million (Dh12m) from Las Palmas three years ago and as well as starring for his club, he is now Spain’s top scorer in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Game of the week

The Madrid derby at the Vicente Calderon is by far the biggest game this weekend. Barcelona are at home to a Malaga side who are poor away; third-place Villarreal face a tough match at Athletic Bilbao.

Sporting Gijon against Real Sociedad will test the Basques’ credentials as a possible top-six finisher.

What else?

With no top flight matches, there was a full fixture list in the lower divisions. Second division leaders Levante are eight points clear at the top and have lost only one of their 14 matches so far. They were surprisingly held at home to mid-table Cadiz at the weekend. Sevilla’s B team – Sevilla Atletico – are second after another win, watched by a crowd of 10,000. Even if they finish in a promotion position, they are not allowed to go up to La Liga.

sports@thenational.ae

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport