Atletico Madrid will be missing two of their key midfielders for their weekend derby clash with Real Madrid on Saturday. Los Rojiblancos are on a high after their dramatic win over Rayo Vallecano, but preparations for their second local derby of the week.
There is no surprise at the absence of Jose Maria Gimenez, who is recovering from a muscle injury and is to be eased back into the side. He is not expected to be ready. More positive news comes in the form of Alex Baena, who was on the bench against Rayo, and could be given minutes against Real Madrid. Their star summer signing is recovering from apendicitis, for which he had an operation.
Midfield duo ruled out for Atletico Madrid
However Diego Simeone will be without Johnny Cardoso and Thiago Almada, two more of their summer additions. Cardoso’s absence was more or less expected, given reports believe he will not be back before the October international break. However there was hope that Almada could be back in the fold in time, but Pedro Fullana of Cadena SER has confirmed that both will miss out on the derby this weekend.
El Atleti regresa a los entrenos para preparar el derbi del sábado
🏋🏻♂️ Los titulares, Giuliano y Nico recuperan en el gimnasio
✔️ El resto entrena sobre el césped
➡️ Giménez sigue con su regreso progresivo
❌ Almada y Cardoso siguen de baja y están descartados
📻 @carrusel pic.twitter.com/u1glH9k5GV
— Pedro Fullana (@PedroFullanaSER) September 25, 2025
Real Madrid absences
Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso also has a debate over whether to throw Jude Bellingham back into the mix, having given him around half an hour of action against Espanyol and Levante off the bench. Los Blancos will be without Antonio Rudiger and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as they recover from longer-term muscle problems.
WHAT A PHOTO. pic.twitter.com/UrxxPx3wty
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) September 24, 2025
Atletico’s midfield configuration for the derby
Midfield will be one of the areas that Simeone will think longest over in terms of his selections. Against Rayo, Conor Gallagher and Marcos Llorente flanked Koke Resurreccion and Pablo Barrios against Rayo, but generally Llorente has been playing at right-back. Barrios is assured a start, and Simeone’s main alternatives are Giuliano Simeone and Nicolas Gonzalez, who could be options out wide. Both Llorente and Gallagher are capable of slotting into the middle, but Koke has arguably been amongst Atletico’s best players over the last few games.
