Atlético Madrid will be looking to return to winning ways against FC Barcelona to stay in the top four in La Liga.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will all go head-to-head in search of the all-important three points. Barca will be looking to build on their recent run of victories, while the home side will be desperate for a win to avoid dropping out of the top four.
Atlético Madrid did not have the best season this time. They are currently fourth in the league with 55 points in 28 games. They have already lost seven matches this term and are 14 points behind league leaders Real Madrid.
They are only two points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Club and defeat here could cost them 4th place. They head into this after a 2-0 defeat by Cadiz in their last league game. They bounced back in the UEFA Champions League with a win over Inter Milan but will need to produce one of their best performances to dethrone Xavi’s side.
Barcelona is 3rd in the points table and has a six-point lead over 4th-placed Atletico Madrid. In their 28 matches, they collected 61 points thanks to 18 wins. The Catalan giants are eight points behind league leaders Real Madrid and only a miracle can help them to the league title.
But since they still have an outside chance, expect them to keep pushing. They followed up their 1-0 win over Mallorca with a 3-1 win over Napoli in the UEFA Champions League and head into this game against Simeone’s side high on confidence.
It promises to be a high-voltage fixture between two quality teams and The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they might employ.
Atlético Madrid Possible Lineup (3-5-2):
Oblak; Savic, Witsel, Hermoso; Molina, Llorente, De Paul, Koke, Lino; Griezmann, Morata
Barcelona Probable Lineup (4-3-3):
ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Fermin Lopez, Christensen, Gundogan; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
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