While there can be no denying that the quarter-finals of this season’s UEFA Champions League have thrown up some truly mouth-watering clashes, undoubtedly the pick of next week’s fixtures will be an explosive Madrid derby between bitter Spanish rivals, Atletico and Real.

Having previously been unable to buy a win against their more affluent neighbours in La Liga, Diego Simeone’s troops are currently unbeaten in their last six league and cup appearances against Real, with their most recent meeting ending in a humiliating 4-0 defeat for Carlo Ancelotti’s Galacticos.

With Los Blancos also slipping to three defeats in their last five in all competitions – including a damaging 2-1 reverse to title rivals, Barcelona – it did seem as though it would be the home side holding all the momentum going into Tuesday’s game, but Real shrugged off any doubts about their character and pedigree with a crushing 9-1 win over Granada, in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored five.

Having also emerged victorious from a bruising encounter with Ray Vallecano last week, Ancelotti’s men should head into what is essentially a repeat of last year’s final confident that they can again get one over their city rivals in Europe’s premier club competition.

Certainly, the memory of that 4-1 victory for Real in Lisbon seems to have lingered in the bookies’ collective memory, as despite the balance of power tilting Atleti’s way in recent encounters, the visitors have been named as 17/10 favourites for victory and 1/2 to progress over the two legs.

The Rojiblancos, meanwhile, are viewed as slight underdogs to win at 21/10 and 15/8 to qualify, while the two sides drawing after 90 minutes is priced at 5/2. Interestingly, in terms of outright wins between the two sides, in six of the last eight games that haven’t ended in a draw, the victors have won to nil, with Atleti holding the upper hand in that respect with six clean sheets to Real’s two.

As such, there may be a spot of value to be had on “both teams to score – no” at evens, while bigger odds can be found on either the hosts or the visitors to win to nil at 7/2 and 16/5 respectively. Nevertheless, with this being a crucial game neither side will want to lose, you may be better off hedging your bets by taking under 2.5 goals at 8/11 in the event both sides simply cancel each other out.