Vinicius Junior has a torrid goalscoring record for Real Madrid against rivals Atletico Madrid which Xabi Alonso will no doubt be taking into consideration. The Madrid giants clash in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final on Thursday (January 8th) and Diego Simeone is already looking to nullify the threat posed by the Brazilian superstar.
Simeone is a clever tactician who has a proven track record of coming up with strategies to deal with some of Europe's best forwards. He will be looking to his Atleti defence to not only keep Vinicius at bay but also other members of Alonso's attack.
Madridstas won't need reminding what happened the last time the two rivals met as Simeone's men beat Los Blancos 5-2 at the Metropolitano. Vinicius wasn't at his best on the night and it looks as though he'll come up against the same right-back who fared well against him.
Simeone's plan for Vinicius
Vinicius was bright early on in that game but Marcos Llorente soon got to grips with the 25-year-old and eventually managed to keep him quiet. The versatile Spaniard will be tasked with replicating that success when the two sides meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Diario AS (via The Madrid Zone) reports that Simeone will use Llorente at right-back, as he wants him to face Vinicius again. It will be an interesting matchup between the pair, given the Brazil international might just have a point to prove.
Vinicius' future has been the subject of speculation amid rumors of discontent and he's not been in the fans' best books as of late. He was booed in wins over Sevilla (2-0) and Real Betis (5-1) having gone 18 games without scoring.
Gonzalo Garcia will be the one to stop
Vinicius' world-class ability means he'll likely re-find form sooner rather than later and there wouldn't be a better time to do so than against Atleti. But even with the Brazilian enduring a goal drought, Alonso possesses a player who definitely has his shooting boots on.
Gonzalo Garcia heads into the Madrid derby off the back of a man-of-the-match display in the 5-1 win over Betis. The Spanish youngster netted a perfect hat-trick and put in a sensational performance that allayed fears over Alonso's side struggling without the injured Kylian Mbappe.
The 21-year-old is set to lead the line against Atleti with Mbappe sidelined and there has now been confirmation that the French forward won't be participating at the Spanish Super Cup. This gives his Spanish teammate the chance to build on his exploits against Betis.