adminrarely had a better opportunity as Real are expected to rest plenty of first-team regulars with Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second-leg against Borussia Dortmund in mind.
“There are 14 years worth of desperation to win this game,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
“Obviously it is an opportunity for us. It has been a long time since we arrived at a derby so evenly matched and a long time since we beat them.
“We have spent a long time talking about the best way to win a derby and now we have to go and do it.”
Real will arrive at the Calderon on the back of a devastating 4-1 defeat to Dortmund on Wednesday night and Gabi is hoping that result means Jose Mourinho will reserve the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil for the second-leg. We expect that Madrid will come here to win the game, regardless of which players play. The result yesterday was one no one expected, not them, nor the people who watched it from the outside, but they know how to get over this. Atletico were also handed a huge boost with the news that Diego Costa’s yellow card against Sevilla last weekend has been rescinded so the Brazilian will be available to continue up front alongside Radamel Falcao.
For Real, meanwhile, the focus remains trying to somehow overcome their 4-1 deficit against Dortmund, but captain Iker Casillas said no matter what happens today he doesn’t think it will influence how next month’s Copa del Rey final between the two will go.
“It has been 14 years since they beat us and I suppose for them it is an important match, but I don’t think it will make a big difference to what happens in the cup final.” An Atletico win would also ensure Barcelona are officially crowned champions tonight should they manage to win away to Athletic Bilbao.
However, manager Tito Vilanova is also likely to make a number of changes ahead of Bayern’s visit to the Camp Nou on Wednesday with the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas and Cristian Tello coming into the side.
Fixtures
Today: Levante v Celta Vigo, Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona, Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid, Real Zaragoza v Mallorca
Tomorrow: Espanyol v Granada, Malaga v Getafe, Valladolid v Sevilla, Real Sociedad v Valencia
Monday: Real Betis v Deportivo la Coruna — AFP.
Online Reporter