Atletico is a point behind both Barcelona and Madrid in the three-way fight for the trophy, with Barca having played a game less. So Diego Simeone’s team can hardly afford to lose on Sunday, but must quickly get over another excruciating defeat to its fierce crosstown rival in the Champions League on Wednesday.

There is almost always drama when local rivals Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid play each other, but Wednesday’s match in the last 16 of the Champions League takes some beating.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice to help Real Madrid fight back to beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday and move provisionally top of the LaLiga standings. The hosts opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Alex Baena's corner was deflected by Aurelien Tchouameni,

Villareal takes on Real Madrid at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Saturday, March 15. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CET local time, making it a 1:30 p.m. ET and 10:30 a.m. PT start in the US, a 5:30 p.m. GMT start in the UK and a 4:30 a.m. AEDT kickoff in Australia on Sunday morning.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Friday complained about calendar congestion, saying that his players will have only 72 hours of rest since their Champions League round-of-16 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Atlético Madrid before facing Villarreal.