When is the Madrid derby? – Real vs Atletico 2025/26 dates

The Madrid derby is one of Europe’s most hotly contested rivalries, with meetings in recent years almost always very tight. After the release of the fixtures for the 2025/26 LaLiga season, we now know when the Madrid derby will be played during the coming campaign.

There will also be at least one meeting in cup competitions given Real Madrid are scheduled to play Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa in early 2026.

When is the Madrid derby next going to be played?

The next Madrid derby will take place on the weekend of 27th/28th September 2025 in LaLiga, with the actual date and time set to be confirmed in due course. It will be matchday seven and the game will take place at the Estadio Metropolitano meaning there’s a big early-season home fixture for fans of Los Rojiblancos to look forward to on the 2025/26 Atletico Madrid schedule.

This will be Atleti’s 15th season with Diego Simeone in charge, while it’ll be the first for Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid following his summer appointment. Alonso will experience his club’s two two biggest domestic fixtures from the dugout within the space of four weeks given El Clasico is scheduled to take place in October.

Tickets for September’s derby will go on sale via the Atletico Madrid website. High demand is expected and fans looking to come to the game from abroad may want to consider alternative options to guarantee a seat.

Options include official ticket-and-hotel packages offered by Sportsbreaks, while you may find tickets on resale sites such as Hellotickets, although any purchases from third-party platforms are made at your own risk.

Latest Madrid derby results

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid met four times last season, and true to form, there was very little to separate the sides. Both meetings in LaLiga ended 1-1, with Atleti scoring a 95th-minute leveller through Angel Correa in the first clash at the Estadio Metropolitano.

The clubs also locked horns in February in the league, with Kylian Mbappe and Julian Alvarez the scorers on that occasion. That could have been the end of things as far as the Madrid derby was concerned in the 2024/25 season, but the Champions League draw paired the city rivals together in the round-of-16 stage.

Last meeting: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Real Madrid (AET – penalties: 2-4)

While Atleti’s domestic record against their neighbours has been respectable in recent years, European meetings between the clubs, of which there have been several (including two Champions League finals), have always gone the way of Los Blancos.

That was ultimately the case again in 2025, but only after a night of pure tension at the Metropolitano. Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Atleti immediately levelled the aggregate score with Conor Gallagher netting in the first minute of the return clash.

119 goalless minutes followed, before Alvarez’s slip and alleged double-kick contributed to Los Blancos winning the shootout and progressing into the quarter-finals having inflicted yet another dose of European pain on their rivals.

Madrid derby dates – Real vs Atletico 2025/26 fixtures

• Weekend of 27th/28th September 2025 – Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid (LaLiga)
• Midweek of 7th/8th January 2026 – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid (Supercopa in Saudi Arabia)
• Weekend of 21st/22nd March 2026 – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid (LaLiga)

The reverse fixture in LaLiga will take place at the Santiago Bernabeu on the weekend of the 21st/22nd March 2026. League derbies are almost without exception played on a Saturday or Sunday, and we’ll find out which of those days it will be nearer the time.

There will also be a Madrid derby in the Spanish Supercopa in Saudi Arabia in early January. This will be a semi-final clash, with the winners set to face either Barcelona or Athletic Club in the final on Sunday 11th January.

There is the potential for more meetings, with both clubs also competing in the Champions League and Copa del Rey during the 2025/26 season. That means we could see as many as seven derbies were the clubs to again meet in a European knockout tie, and be paired together in a Copa del Rey semi-final which would be a two-legged affair.