At 17:15 Lithuanian time, intriguing 24th round matches will start in the Spanish "La Liga". At the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid, "Atletico" will host the Barcelona footballers, who dropped to the third position after a victory against "Sevilla".
"Atletico" - "Barcelona" Tournament: "La Liga" (24th round) Stadium: "Vicente Calderon" (Madrid) Referee: Antonio Mateu Date and time: 2016-02-26, 17:15
Intriguing competition for the first position returned to the Spanish championship after Real Madrid's unexpected defeat against Valencia on Wednesday. "Atletico" seemed for a long time during the season that they would not compete for the title, but their stable performance restored confidence in Diego Simeone's stronghold.
Recent matches have shown "Atletico" demonstrating probably the best game of the season, while their opponents from Barcelona are in a crisis. "Barca" barely avoided losing points to the bottom teams in "La Liga" after a devastating defeat in the UEFA Champions League last weekend.
Diego Simeone can be pleased with the sporting form of his team - in the last five matches, they have won four and played a draw against Barcelona in the King's Cup. In the last match, "Atletico" beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League.
In the meantime, Luis Enrique has not much to be pleased about, as his team is comfortably positioned in the Spanish championship, but their journey in the Champions League is likely already over after losing 0-4 to PSG.
Following the important match against Barcelona, Atletico's fans received good news that team captain Diego Godin is back in the lineup, while players like Tiago, Juanfran, and Augusto Fernandez are out due to injuries.
Barcelona, on the other hand, will be without Arda Turan, Aleix Vidal, and Javier Mascherano. However, none of these three players are regular starters, so Enrique will have a strong lineup to choose from.
Predicted Atletico lineup: Miguel Moya; Sime Vrsaljko, Diego Godin, Stefan Savic, Filipe Luis; Saul Niguez, Gabi, Koke, Yannick Carrasco; Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres. Predicted Barcelona lineup: Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba; Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar.
Interesting facts: Barcelona and Atletico are meeting for the fourth time this season - the first match ended in a draw in the Spanish league, Barcelona won in the King's Cup, and another draw.
"Atletico" won three out of their last three league matches this season, having never won four consecutive games under Diego Simeone's leadership.
One of the main leaders of "Rojiblancos" Antoine Griezmann scored three goals at the Vicente Calderon stadium in the last two matches against Barcelona.
Barcelona scored 48 goals in their last 15 away league matches - an average of 3.2 goals per game. Lionel Messi has scored more goals against Sevilla (27) than against Atletico (26).
Barcelona has been an unbeatable opponent for Atletico in the last 13 matches - ten wins and three draws. Luis Suarez scored five goals in the last six matches against "Rojiblancos" in all tournaments.
Prediction: Barcelona's form has declined, but expecting them to play like against PSG or Leganes against Atletico would be unrealistic. Luis Enrique's players have proven multiple times that Atletico is a favorable opponent for them in the Spanish championship.
However, this match is crucial for Simeone's team, who are not yet contenders for the La Liga title. Expect an intriguing match with at least two goals scored. Prediction - a draw with a score of 1-1.
Aivaras Katutis, eurofootball.lt
