The best attack in Spain takes on a team in transition

The last time rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid met, Atletico rode an early Luis Suarez goal to a 1-1 draw. Real Madrid generated more scoring chances overall — 19 shots to 11, 1.9 expected goals to 1.3 — and pulled even with an 88th-minute goal from Karim Benzema. But late saves from keeper Jan Oblak assured Atleti of a point, and that result ended up rather significant: Atleti ended up winning LaLiga by two points over their derby rivals.

The Madrid Derby resumes on Sunday — stream LIVE, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+ — and the tables have turned significantly. Los Blancos have lost only once in their first 16 league matches and have opened up a commanding lead atop LaLiga, ahead of Sevilla by eight points, nine over Real Betis and 10 over Atleti and Real Sociedad.

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We’re not yet to the season’s midway point, but FiveThirtyEight is giving Real Madrid a 75% chance of winning the league, and no one else is above 10%. Atletico have the best odds of finishing second, but have quite a bit of work to do just to secure a top-four finish. And while Real Madrid quickly rebounded from a slow start in Champions League play this fall, Atleti couldn’t secure a spot in the knockout rounds until Tuesday’s win at Porto.

Here are some of the points of interest heading into Sunday’s game, the biggest of the weekend across Europe.

How Carlo Ancelotti built the best attack in Spain

This summer, new (and old) Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti inherited a roster in transition. They were still getting plenty from a veteran core of forward Karim Benzema, midfielders Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro, etc., but stalwart defenders Sergio Ramos (PSG) and Raphael Varane (Manchester United) had both left. The club brought in former Bayern defender David Alaba, 23-year old Eder Militao took on a much larger role, and the early transition was tricky: they…