Atletico Madrid will host a high flying Barcelona in this weekend's biggest fixture. Diego Simeone's men might not win La Liga this season, but they'll do everything they can to close the gap and ensure a top 4 finish, and that starts tonight against the current league leaders.
Atleti currently sit at 4th position with 27 points, 11 points behind their visitors. While long vaulted as a strong defensive unit, they've been inconsistent this season, having dropped out of Europe completely after finishing last in their Champions League group before the World Cup. They are also way off the pace in the title race, but they come into this game on the back of wins against Elche in the league and Oviedo in the Copa del Rey, scoring 2 goals and keeping clean sheets on both counts.
Barcelona however, are sitting at the summit of the league and are sure to remain in that position regardless of the outcome of this game, after Real Madrid lost to Villarreal. They currently boast the best defense in the league, which has been the foundation of their domestic success this season.
Despite the horrors of the Champions league group stages, Barcelona are still in contention for 4 trophies this season. They had to dig deep to go past Intercity into the next round of the Copa del Rey ( they'll be travelling to Ceuta for that, about 12 hours away!), while the Spanish super cup semi final against Real Betis on Thursday looms. They'll then face Manchester United in the Europa League play-offs come February. With all this to look forward to, Xavi will hope that every member of the squad is in tip top shape to allow rotations with minimal margin of error.
INTERESTING STATS 🧮
- Atletico Madrid have won their last two home games against Barcelona in La Liga, keeping a clean sheet in both clashes. It is just the second time in history that they have managed the feat.
- Barcelona have lost just two of the last 24 games against Atletico Madrid in La Liga.
- A loss on the night will see Barcelona suffer away defeats to both Madrid giants in the same season for only the third time this century.
- It is the fifth time that Barcelona have faced off against Atletico Madrid in their first game of the calendar year. They are yet to lose to the Rojiblancos on any of the occasions.
- Barcelona have conceded just six goals in 15 La Liga games this season, by far the best defensive record of any side in the Spanish top flight this season.
Last five meetings
30/6/20 (LIGA) Barça 2 (OG, Messi) Atlético 2
21/11/20 (LIGA) Atlético 1 Barça 0
8/5/21 (LIGA) Barça 0 Atlético 0
2/10/21 (LIGA) Atlético 2 Barça 0
06/02/22 (LIGA) Barça 4 (Alba, Gavi, Araujo, Alves) Atlético 2
TEAM NEWS
Atletico Madrid 🔴⚪
Atletico could be boosted by the return of Stefan Savic, who has trained ahead of the match, but Sergio Reguilon and Mario Hermoso are both injury doubts for the home side. Rodrigo DePaul is still unavailable, Nahuel Molina as well.
Simeone is expected to deploy his side out in a 3-5-2 formation. Jan Oblak should start in goal behind the back three of Stefan Savic, Axel Witsel and Jose Gimenez.
The trio of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Pablo Barrios and Koke will act as the engine room in the midfield, offering Marcos Llorente and Yannick Carrasco the freedom to push forward on the flanks. Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann are expected to lead the line against a Barca side that has been tested since resumption of club football. João Felix has scored in his last 3 La Liga games and was rested against Oviedo, but the uncertainty around his future makes it unsure if he'd start this one.
Barcelona🔵🔴
Barcelona will be without top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski and Jordi Alba through suspension. Everyone else is fit and available for this clash.
Marc Andre TerStegen, imperious this season between the sticks, will return to the starting XI after sitting out the game against Intercity. Jules Koundé will likely play right back, with Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde completing the backline.
Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie DeJong will likely start in midfield. Busquets played all 120 minutes against Intercity, Kessie also played but is yet to cement his place in the squad. Pablo Torre was brilliant and showed exactly why Xavi needs to put more faith in him, so it won't be a surprise to see him get some minutes at the Wanda.
The big question is who will deputize for Lewandowski. Xavi said different profiles have been tested, but it'll be between Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay, the last two of whom are yet to validate a place in the starting XI with the required performance post World Cup. Ansu Fati was way below his best against Espanyol but made up for it with a winner against Intercity in midweek. It's likely he'll line up alongside Dembele and/or Raphinha, depending on if Xavi plays the typical 4-3-3 or deploy a 4-4-2 that was used to defeat Atleti the last time out.
Where and when are Atletico vs Barcelona playing?
Location: Madrid, Spain
Stadium: Civitas Metropolitano
Date: Sunday 8 January
Kick-off Time: 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
VAR: Alejandro José Hernandez Hernández
Referee: Jose Luis Munuera Montero
Even though Atlético Madrid are not having the best of seasons, the Metropolitano is never an easy place to go and the home side are fighting for consistency this season. Winning such a game could be a good place to start. Both Managers are under enormous pressure to deliver going into this tie involving a clash of styles. Barcelona will have to be at their best defensively and offensively to put three points between them and Real Madrid.
