Since the absence of Ronaldo, Real Madrid have not been getting the results everybody were expecting them to get. Is Ronaldo such a big factor to this side? Will the Ronaldo factor affect this Madrid derby?

Real Madrid

Real Madrid have yet to lose in the Vicente Calderon for almost 10 years. With Ronaldo still out injured for this game, would the Ronaldo factor affect the result? I reckon that there are a lot of players out there in the Real squad that has yet to prove their value.

Since the humiliating 4-0 defeat in the Copa Del Ray, Manuel Pellegrini has dropped Guti out of the squad and move Raul to the bench. Both these players have been at Real for a long time and when the results start to drop, the fans will be start pointing fingers towards Pellegrini and hence he is likely to lose his job.

With Ronaldo out for this game, Pellegrini will be banking on Kaka, however with Kaka playing below average lately, this have to worry the Madrid fans. Kaka was awful in midweek as he was always lose possession and hoping for a free kick, which he did not get.

Pellegrini is expected to start once again with a 4-2-4 formation.
Casillas will start in goal protected by Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Arbeloa and Marcelo in defense. In midfield, Lassana Diarra and Xabi Alonso will play the holding midfield role allowing Kaka, Benzema, Higuain and Raul or Granero to play up front.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid awful start towards the season continued as Quique Sanchez side was defeated yet again last weekend. Atletico Madrid has only one once this season and they are lying at the bottom of the League table.

However Atletico Madrid produced a decent result when they drew 2-2 against Chelsea in midweek. Sergio Aguero came off the bench and scored two late goals to keep Atletico Madrid’s chances in qualifying for the knock-out stages.

Sanchez is expected to start with Sergio Asenjo in goal protected by Ujfalusi, Juanito, Ibanez and Lopez in defense. In midfield, Assuncao and Garcia will start in central midfield while Simao and Rodriguez will start out in the flanks leaving Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero up front.

Special Handicap Analysis :

Under the Asianhandicap line this season, Atletico Madrid has only won one game from the possible four at home. The win came against newly promoted side, Real Zaragoza.

On the other hand, Real Madrid have won two out of the four away games this season under the handicap line. Both victory came against Villarreal and Espanyol with Ronaldo in the side.

The Betting Verdict :

There is no doubt that Real Madrid are heavily relying on Cristiano Ronaldo to deliver them the goals. However looking at both teams, Real Madrid have been by far a better team (even without Ronaldo) compared to Atletico Madrid.

The Atletico Madrid we saw last season is completely different than the one they are now. One of the major problems that Atletico Madrid faced this season is scoring. Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero have been in splendid goal scoring form last season but out of the nine games Forlan played this season he only managed three goals!

Pressure has to be on Pellegrini to eat out a good result. Another draw or defeat would leave Pellegrini closer to being sacked as this is a Madrid derby and the fans and board of directors have high expectation.

With Ronaldo out, i am expecting the likes of Higuain and Benzema to step up their game to fill in for the Portuguese. No doubt that Ronaldo cannot be replaced but the intelligence of both these players should be good enough to create a scoring chance.

The Statistics :

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Real Madrid to win the game.

As both these teams have not had a 0-0 draw since 2005, consider trying both team to score as your side bet.