Griezmann starts for Atletico Madrid as Rodrygo replaces Benzema

Antoine Griezmann was the headliner of Atletico Madrid's starting XI for the derby with Real Madrid on Sunday.

Griezmann has scored three goals for Atleti this season, but all seven of his appearances have come from the substitutes' bench.

Diego Simeone suggested it was partly a financial decision, with Atleti due to owe Barcelona a fee for the loan forward if he played more than half of the available minutes.

However, he edged out Alvaro Morata for the match at Civitas Metropolitano, alongside Joao Felix.

The introduction of Griezmann was one of five changes made by Simeone, whose side lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, has made two changes to the Madrid squad that started in Wednesday's win over RB Leipzig.

Ferland Mendy and Toni Kroos replaced Nacho Fernandez and Eduardo Camavinga respectively.

With Karim Benzema injured, Rodrygo - who has scored in his last two La Liga appearances - has been selected to lead Madrid's line up along with Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior.

Ancelotti have lost four of his six meetings as manager with Simeone in La Liga (W1 D1), while Atleti have the chance to win consecutive games against Madrid in the Spanish top flight for the first time since February 2015