UK viewers can watch the Madrid Derby live on Premier Sports on 22 March, with coverage available across the Premier Sports TV channels and the Premier Sports streaming platform. Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00pm GMT.
This weekend sees Real Madrid host Atletico Madrid in LaLiga. The Madrid Derby is one of world football’s oldest and eagerly contested derbies, littered with the planet’s best players, often fighting for the biggest prizes against a backdrop of intense history.
Real Madrid currently sit second, chasing the title, with Atletico Madrid looking to shore up their position in the top four. Real Madrid have failed to beat their cross-city rivals in the last six LaLiga encounters, adding pressure to what is already a huge fixture for Los Blancos to claw back ground in the title race.
It’s a must watch for all football fans, but for those in the UK, this Madrid derby has a further element of intrigue. The headline stars of this fixture, Julian Alvarez, Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ademola Lookman, all have history in English football and are bang in form, making for a nice hook for UK fans to tune in.
At the centre of attention for this derby will be Atletico Madrid’s in-form new signing, Ademola Lookman. After a lightning start in Spain, the ex-Everton forward will get his first taste of the historic derby pitted up directly against another former Merseysider in Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Lookman’s journey to Madrid was perhaps unforeseen while performing well, if not starring, during Premier League stints at Everton and Fulham. With roots in South London, Lookman is an example to all youth footballers in England that moving abroad to La Liga to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world is a dream that can become reality, however unlikely it looks.
Even his youth coaches at Charlton have expressed they couldn’t quite anticipate the former England youth international would go on to achieve the heights of match-winning Europa League Final performances, a 14th place finish in the Ballon D’or rankings and now about to take centre stage.
Looking to continue his meteoric rise, Lookman has made a bright start to life in Spain, registering 7 goal involvements (4 goals, 3 assists) in his opening 8 games in the Spanish capital. Signed for €40m, he has already made his mark in the big games in LaLiga that he was brought in to influence, being instrumental in a 4-0 demolition of Barcelona in the first-leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, as well as scoring and assisting on his debut vs Real Betis. His manager Simeone commented that “he has different qualities to the players we have, and he will make us better.”
Looking ahead to his first taste of the Madrid derby, Lookman will be relishing the task of taking on his new cross-city rivals, Real Madrid, for the first time. He will not be alone in getting his first taste of the Madrid Derby – Alvaro Arbeloa will be making a managerial debut in this fixture. Will Arbeloa figure out a way to neutralise Atletico Madrid’s new star man and succeed where his predecessor failed?
🚨 JUST IN – Injury Updates:
– Marc Pubill is STILL not ruled out from the derby.
– Jan Oblak is less likely to make it for the derby.
– Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo Mendoza are still not training with the team.@mundodeportivo
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) March 20, 2026
Interestingly, Alexander-Arnold will also be getting his first taste of the Madrid Derby since he’s been ruled out of the previous two encounters this season due to injury.
Lookman isn’t the first ex-Premier League player in recent history to take the spotlight in the Madrid Derby for Atletico Madrid. In the second leg of the Champions League last season, Conor Gallagher became the first English player to score in the Madrid derby and subsequently the first to score a winning goal in that fixture too. Kieran Trippier was also a stalwart for Simeone, and managed to contribute to a clean sheet against Real Madrid when he got his first taste of the Madrid derby.
Don’t miss Real Madrid vs Atlético de Madrid this Sunday, 22nd March, available live in the UK via Premier Sports, 8:00pm GMT kick off.
