Prior to the Champions League final when Atletico played Real Madrid at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Diego Simeone mentioned Casemiro three times in the pre-match press conference without being asked, hinting at the importance of the Brazilian to Zinedine Zidane's side and something which Cholo will be delighted not to have to contend with on Saturday night. Convinced that the midfielder was more important to Real than BBC, Simeone continued to sing his praises. "The presence of Casemiro allows a better grouping of the opponent when they've lost the ball," the Atleti coach said on May 27. "He makes them much more dangerous without a doubt." Now, a few months later and with that encounter already in the pages of the history books, the Rojiblancos are ready to go toe-to-toe with Real in a derby contest that has nothing to do with that evening, but with the same objective - nothing other than victory is good enough. An injury keeps Casemiro out so Atleti will be looking for ways to overcome his replacement, Mateo Kovacic instead.
Already played in the Calderon
The Croatian will be the anchor in the middle of the pitch, a position that he already took up at the Estadio Vicente Calderon in the last meeting there. He replaced Karim Benzema with a quarter of an hour left but since then hasn't appeared in a Madrid derby for a single minute.
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