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FC Barcelona will travel to Madrid on Saturday night for a date with Los Colchoneros. At the moment both teams are separated by only one point on the league table. The winners at Wanda will take their place at the top of the table while a draw will open the doors for Alaves and Sevilla to fight for the top spot.
The last meeting between the two sides in La Liga was at the Camp Nou. The Blaugrana outfit won the match 1-0. A solitary Lionel Messi free-kick was enough to see the game through for Barcelona. The last and only meeting at Wanda Metropolitano ended in a 1-1 draw. Saul Niguez gave Atletico Madrid the lead which was canceled out by Luis Suarez late in the 82nd minute.
This meeting is probably going to be as enthralling as the last one. Barcelona was the first team to score a goal at Wanda Metropolitano. They also have one of the best front threes in Europe. Atletico, on the other hand, depends much on their solid defense. Here are five things to look forward to on Saturday night. (1:15 AM, Sunday, IST)
#5 Will Diego Costa snap out of his goal-less streak?
Atletico Madrid's prodigal son Diego Costa upon returning to the club was hailed by the fans. But his return to the club has been more disappointing than not. He has failed to net in the last eighteen league games for Atletico Madrid.
If you want to find his last league goal, search all the way back to February 2018. In the 2018-19 season, he has managed to score only three times, twice against Real Madrid in the Super Cup. A team like Atletico without many lethal goal-scorers, the abysmal run of their lead striker is a point of concern.
Not only has he failed to score, but he has also failed to convert some easy chances into goals. Moreover, he has only taken seven shots in the whole season. Seven shots, from a striker, is really bad. Costa's only contribution to the team is goals and when he doesn't do that, it creates doubt in the coach's mind whether to play him or not.
Barcelona's weak defense is the best way for a misfiring Costa to return to goalscoring ways. Los Colchoneros will be hoping he snaps out of his streak. What do you think?
#4 How will Ernesto Valverde line-up his starting 11?
At the moment not many players are confirmed of their starting spots in the team. The only people who are sure to make the 11 are Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Arthur Melo, Lionel Messi, and Luis Suarez. Which means there are still four spots which are to be confirmed.
The first spot is the right-back spot. Sergi Roberto was extremely poor against Real Betis at right-back and he didn't impress as such in the Nations League. Nelson Semedo is certainly a better defender and has as much pace as Sergi. But the problem with starting him is that he is out of match practice. Even world class players look rusty when out of match practice, Semedo is just a young kid.
The next spot is the center back spot. Clement Lenglet has impressed in Samuel Umtiti's absence for Barcelona. Now Umtiti is fit to play again. Anyone would prefer Umtiti over Lenglet while facing Atletico Madrid. But the problem is, Umtiti is out of match practice as well. A return from injury in a major away game is not the best idea. Lenglet could be trusted as Atletico's attacks are not a very major threat.
Coming to the forward positions, the left wing is vacant. Phillipe Coutinho missed the friendlies with Brazil and also the Real Betis game due to a hamstring injury. If Coutinho is absent, then the only choices are Dembele and Malcom, both equally raw talents. Dembele has been losing possession a lot of times and Malcom has just not played enough to start against Atletico Madrid. But still, any one of them could start.
The last spot comes due to Ivan Rakitic's suspension and also injury. Rakitic will be sidelined for more games. If Phillipe Coutinho is somehow fit, then he can start either at left wing or in the midfield. Otherwise, Carles Alena and Arturo Vidal are favorites to start at the midfield. Vidal seems a better option in terms of experience.
It is up to the gaffer to decide the teams and it will be interesting to look at his choices.
#3 Can Atletico breach the weak defensive barriers of Barcelona?
Barcelona is a good attacking team but they are very weak in terms of defense. The game against Betis exposed a lot of flaws in the back line of Barcelona. Sergi Roberto is extremely weak defensively and can be beaten for pace. Gerard Pique is a good player in one on one situations but he is also beaten for pace. Pique is a bit slow while retreating as well. Jordi Alba engages so much in the attacking third that sometimes his defensive duties are unfulfilled.
A lot of times pressure piles on Sergio Busquets to increase his defensive contribution which takes away his lethal deep creative game. This also mounts the pressure on the man between the sticks Marc Ter Stegen. The only howler from Barcelona's #1 has been the one against Betis in the last game.
The Barcelona defense has been very weak in dealing with set-pieces, crosses and high looping balls over the defense. They just don't pressure the player much, allowing them to head the ball without much problem. They also take a lot of time before clearing the danger.
The only resort for the defense is that the Atletico team is not a very attacking minded one. Barcelona is often hit on the counter by teams with good pace but Atletico doesn't offer much of a pace. The only serious threat with his swiftness is Gelson Martins. But doesn't mean that Barcelona can breathe easily. They still have the set-pieces to deal with. Atletico is one of the best teams on the set-piece.
It will be good to witness this defense against Atletico's moderate attack. Samuel Umtiti's return will be good news for the Blaugrana but concerns still lie in the fullback spots.
#2 The immovable defense of Atletico against the irresistible attack of Barcelona
Atletico Madrid is the best defensive side in the league so far. They have conceded only 8 goals this season in LaLiga. They have a giant keeper in Jan Oblak. They also have a great-center back partnership in Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin. Filipe Luis and Juanfran are good as full backs, although Juanfran is a bit out of touch as of late.
FC Barcelona is a rampant attacking team. They have scored 34 goals this season in LaLiga so far, which is at least 10 more than any other team. Sevilla is second in terms of scoring, with 24 goals. Barcelona is capable of breaching the defensive barriers of any team but Atletico is different. Last season at Camp Nou, Barcelona had to defend Messi's free-kick goal to win. At Wanda, they toiled for 82 minutes before Suarez somehow got the goal.
But Barcelona played very well at Wanda last year and was unlucky in a sense to walk away without a win. There are several match-ups which are a decisive factor in the game. Dembele and Jordi Alba against Juanfran is the main talking point. Juanfran has been slow in backtracking as of late which will prove costly against a pace master like Jordi Alba. The other wing battle is one of the most competitive ones.
Messi against Filipe Luis, a David and Goliath battle, but only in terms of size and not skill. Filipe Luis is a very stubborn defender, allowing nobody to get past him. He is strong and easily pushes his opponent off the ball. Lionel Messi is just as adamant. He turns away so quickly from challenges that sometimes strength alone couldn't stop him. Last season at Camp Nou, he made Filipe Luis run for his money, keeping the ball with him and avoiding the pressure before turning into the open field.
The center of the field is an all Uruguayan affair. Godin and Gimenez against Luis Suarez. Another mouth-watering matchup. Atletico's barrier is not unbreakable as Dortmund found out at Westfalenstadion. But Wanda is a different place and Saturday is a different day as well. Who comes out on top, the irresistible force or the immovable object.
#1 Will Los Colchoneros manage to stop Lionel Messi?
How do you stop this man? Tackle him, pressurize him, pull him down, somehow he keeps going. Against Real Betis, it was just his return from injury, yet he was the Man of the Match. The through ball that bypassed the defense, just as good as his performance. Filipe Luis found out the hard way last time, that trying to force him off the ball is digging for fool's gold. Pressing him doesn't solve anything. Players surrounding him have to be stopped because he cannot be.
Think back to the time when Simeone did not celebrate Torres' goal. Why? He said in his interview itself that he saw Messi warming up. That is the fear that this man creates, not only on the pitch but also on the benches. Stopping Messi is easier said than done, so Atletico should think of stopping the team as a whole rather than just Messi.
Teams have tried to man-mark him but in vain. Poor Pablo Maffeo was running for 90 minutes when he marked Messi last season. Messi doesn't stay still, he just walks around the pitch so rapidly that you have to keep up. He changes his tempo very quickly from walking to sprinting straight at the defense. French people claimed that Kante stopped him, but if he did, then still the little man ended up getting two assists and a lot of dribbles past him.
Moreover, Atletico Madrid is one of Messi favorite teams to score against. 28 goals in total against them, 23 of them have been scored in the league. Even with such a great defense, he broke their barriers with a single-freekick. Over the jumping Diego Costa, just inches past Jan Oblak's fingers. It is not that Costa did not jump high enough or Oblak didn't dive, it is just that ability to somehow score.
This season, Messi has not been out of form in the majority of the games. Oscar De Marcos from Athletic Bilbao could give some lessons of how to stop Messi. Just stop the person whom the pass is intended to. Messi put Suarez and Coutinho in a lot in the Athletic Barcelona game but De Marcos put both of them under pressure leading to their respective misses.
We all know whom Simeone considers the Best in the World but he has to find a way to stop him now. How exactly? Wanda Metropolitano has the answer on Saturday.
