Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid Spanish Super Cup 2014 Preview, Date & Schedule: Which Team is the Favorite?

By David Salazar Aug 18 2014, 17:05 PM EDT

Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid will face off in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Tuesday in what promises to be a fascinating encounter.

Both teams enter this campaign with a series of improvements and should both challenge for all trophies in 2014-15. The Spanish Super Cup is not considered a major trophy, but it still counts and will be of utmost importance to both sides. Real Madrid is competing after having won the Copa del Rey, while Atletico earned its place after winning the Spanish League title.

Real Madrid has won the trophy nine times, with its most recent triumph coming in 2012. Back then, the team took down Barcelona 4-4 on away goals. Atletico last won it in 1985 and has finished as a runner-up on four other occasions. The team competed for it last season against Barcelona and drew 1-1 over two legs. However, Los Rojiblancos lost on away goals. Surprisingly, this is the first time that these two rivals face off in this competition.

This will be the fifth meeting of the 2014 calendar year between these two teams. The two sides met for the first time on Feb. 5 when they battled it out in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal. Los Blancos came away with a huge 3-0 win. A week later, Real Madrid managed a 2-0 win to move on to the final.

The teams then renewed their rivalries on March 2 in a 2-2 draw at the Vicente Calderon in the Spanish League. Their most important match of the calendar year, however, was the Champions League final.

In that match, Atletico held a 1-0 lead until the waning minutes before a header from Sergio Ramos evened things up. Real Madrid would then dominate in extra time and conquer La Decima with a 4-1 win.

Atletico likely enters this matchup hoping for some revenge and should definitely get a boost from summer acquisitions Mario Mandzukic, Raul Jimenez and Antoine Griezmann. The team's attack should continue to be deadly, especially if they play on the counter as they did in their previous games against Real Madrid. The only real question for los Rojiblancos is in goal. They have Jan Oblak and Miguel Angel Moya, but neither are anywhere near the quality of the now departed Thibaut Courtois.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid enters after a successful 2-0 win in the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla. However, Los Blancos have suffered injuries to Gareth Bale and Pepe. Raphael Varane is expected to come in for the Portuguese defender, but the vacancy left by Bale is more questionable. James Rodrigez could get chance to shine on the wing in his absence, but coach Carlo Ancelotti could also use the opportunity to give Angel Di Maria more playtime. The Argentine's future with the club remains dubious, so the Italian Manager may be looking for a means of convincing the star to remain with the club.

The tactics should be interesting. Last season, Atletico succeeded on the counter, but so did Real Madrid. However, Los Blancos will likely play a more possession-based game with the addition of Toni Kroos. Whether he has success at unlocking the stingiest defense in the world will be one of the main battles on display. Another major question is whether Xabi Alonso gets to play as a holding midfielder behind a midfield that includes Kroos and Luka Modric. That question will be easy to answer if Rodriguez slots in Bale's spot. However, if Ancelotti opts for the same formation he had against Sevilla, then it could very well be Kroos and Modric playing deeper in their end. If that winds up being the case, then Real Madrid could become very susceptible to a high-end counter.