Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
They are the top two teams in La Liga, and on Saturday both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will be playing for the right to go three points clear at the summit of the table.
Barca would take the added satisfaction of also holding a game in hand on their closest rivals, and so it is not surprising that plenty are claiming that victory here would signify a huge step in a title race many are just waiting for Luis Enrique’s side to take control of.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
As far as Diego Simeone and Atletico are concerned, the trip to the Camp Nou offers up an opportunity to showcase a defensive solidity and organisation that few clubs at Europe’s top level can match.
Simeone thrives on the pressure of matches such as these, and you can be sure that he’ll be relentlessly drilling his side to perform on the biggest stage in both Spanish and European football.
Get it right, blunt Barca’s famous strikeforce, and Atletico could be going a long way towards potential league success.
Date: Saturday, January 30
Time: 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
TV Info: Sky Sports 3 (Delayed coverage)
Live Stream: La Liga TV
Last 6 Results
Barcelona
Won 4-0 vs. Granada
Won 2-0 vs. Espanyol
Won 6-0 vs. Athletic Bilbao
Won 2-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao
Won 2-1 vs. Malaga
Won 3-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao
Atletico Madrid
Won 2-0 vs, Celta Vigo
Won 3-0 vs. Rayo Vallecano
Won 3-0 vs. Las Palmas
Drew 0-0 vs. Celta Vigo
Drew 0-0 vs. Sevilla
Lost 3-2 vs. Celta Vigo
Team News
Barcelona
Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta were left out of the starting lineup for the midweek Copa del Rey clash with Athletic Bilbao, but both will surely return here as Thomas Vermaelen and Sergi Roberto make way, with Javier Mascherano dropping back into defence.
Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo will replace Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal, and if Jordi Alba overcomes a slight fitness worry to start, then we should be seeing the so-called "Gala XI" that beat Juventus in the Champions League final last year.
Adriano or Jeremy Mathieu could start if Alba misses out.
Possible XI: Bravo, Dani Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic, Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
Atletico Madrid
Two of them were Copa del Rey clashes with Celta Vigo, but the fact that Atletico Madrid are now winless in three matches (and scoreless in two) will trouble Simeone.
He kept Jackson Martinez on the bench throughout the shock midweek defeat to Celta, despite the need for goals, and so he might just be tempted to trust the misfiring Colombian to lead the line in an Atletico side that could do with some freshening up.
The key to that freshening up could come in midfield, where January signing Augusto Fernandez could come into the side for Yannick Ferriera-Carrasco, whilst Jan Oblak will take over in goal.
Possible XI: Oblak, Juanfran, Savic, Giminez, Filipe Luis, Saul, Gabi, Fernandez, Koke, Griezmann, Martinez.
Key Players
Barcelona: Luis Suarez
Now sitting on a tally of 30 goals in 31 appearances this season following his midweek strike in the Copa del Rey, Luis Suarez has become a complete striker in his 15 months in the Barcelona first team.
Capable of scoring all types of goals and against all types of opponents, Suarez is simply a sensational footballer and one whom the famously robust Atletico defence—featuring his Uruguay international team-mates Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez—are going to have to keep watching at all times.
Atletico Madrid: Jan Oblak
And if Suarez can find a way past that defence, then he’ll be faced with the prospect of beating Jan Oblak.
The 23-year-old Slovenian has matured into one of the world’s best young goalkeepers in the past few years, and as he follows in the footsteps of the likes of David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois, he is doing so hugely impressively.
He’ll need to be on form to keep out Barca, and he can expect a busy afternoon.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Barcelona 1/2
Atletico Madrid 6/1
Draw 7/2
