The Madrid derby takes center stage in the round of 16 of the Champions League, with Atletico Madrid in a commanding position to try to finally get the best of rival Real Madrid in the European competition.

The 15-time record winner of the top European club competition is the favourite to progress against Atletico, which it beat in the 2014 and 2016 finals.

For Atletico Madrid it has been a repetitious and painful tale whenever they have faced city rivals Real Madrid in Europe, but they signed Julian Alvarez to try and rip up the script.Alvarez has found that with Atletico and aims to give the Rojiblancos a new experience against Real Madrid in Europe too.

Champions League returns this week, Los Blancos were missing some key players, and they figure to be favorites in both UCL and La Liga come season's end

Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 defeat against Real Betis in their latest La Liga showdown. The away loss on March 1 could be very costly in the race for the title.

Real Madrid slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Real Betis after their former player Isco converted a second-half penalty on Saturday, denying the visitors the chance to top LaLiga.