On Saturday, an intriguing match of the 13th round will take place in the Spanish "La Liga" championship. The two elite teams of the country, Madrid "Atletico" and "Barcelona", will clarify their relationship at the "Wanda Metropolitano" stadium.
Both clubs' form is questionable - most players have spent the last two weeks in national team camps. However, the value of these matches is huge, so an intense 90-minute battle is expected in the Spanish capital.
The match will start at 21:45 Lithuanian time.
Team Results
Both "Barcelona" and "Atletico" have not shown the best football in this season stage, but the results are not bad - symbolizing the situation in the tournament table.
The biggest problem for the Catalans this season is defense - only five teams have conceded more goals than "Barcelona" in the "La Liga" championship. Nevertheless, Barcelona is still enjoying the first position.
In the last five matches, Ernesto Valverde's team celebrated victories three times, played once draw, and once suffered defeat. The defeat came just before the national team break - Seville's "Real Betis" scored four goals against the Catalans and enjoyed a 4-3 victory.
Prior to that, in the Champions League, "Barca" played a draw of 1-1 with Milan's "Inter". In the last five matches, "Barcelona" only managed to keep a clean sheet in the match against a third-tier club - allowing a total of eight goals.
"Atletico" has only suffered one defeat in the same number of matches. At the beginning of November, "Leganes" took their points, and apart from that match, "Atletico" defeated Bilbao "Athletic", "Borussia", "Sant Andreu", and San Sebastian "Real Sociedad".
The "Rojiblancos" have not conceded even half of the goals that "Barcelona" has. However, "Atletico" shows exemplary defense - conceding only eight goals in 12 matches.
Diego Simeone's players are in third place, but they are only one point behind the same Catalans. Thus, after these matches, a new leader may emerge in the "La Liga" championship.
Team News
Both teams have problems, more so with the home team "Atletico". It is already clear that Diego Godin will not help the team, but even without him, there are other defenders - Jose Gimenez, Juanfran, Lucas Hernandez, and Stefan Savic. However, the last two have trained and should be ready to take the field.
It is reported that other injured players - Koke, Diego Costa, and Thomas Lemar, may fully recover in time for these matches.
There is only one loss in the "Barcelona" team - Ivan Rakitic unable to play due to disqualification. Furthermore, Sergi Samper and Thomas Vermaelen are also out of the lineup due to injuries. It is unclear whether Philippe Coutinho is fully prepared for the match.
It is believed that Arturo Vidal may replace Ivan Rakitic in midfield, as he has been playing quite successfully in recent matches.
Predicted Starting Lineups:
"Atletico": (4-4-2) Jan Oblak; Santiago Arias, Stefan Savic, Lucas Hernandez, Filipe Luis; Thomas Lemar, Saul Niguez, Rodrigo, Koke; Antoine Griezmann, Diego Costa.
"Barcelona": (4-3-3) Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Arturo Vidal, Sergio Busquets, Arthur; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho.
Match Facts
"Atletico" has failed to beat "Barca" in their last four matches - Barcelona celebrated victories three times and drew just as many times.
Diego Simeone's players have many chances not to lose this match - "Atletico" is unbeaten in their last nine "La Liga" matches (5 wins, 4 draws).
The teams will meet for the 163rd time - Barcelona has celebrated victory 73 times, Atletico 50 times, and the remaining 39 matches ended in a draw.
Barcelona has not lost for eight consecutive matches in the opponent's stronghold - "Atletico" has lost six times in front of their audience and extended the draw twice.
Atletico's team leader Antoine Griezmann has contributed to seven goals in the "La Liga" championship this season - three accurate shots on goal and four assists.
For Lionel Messi, this is a favorable opponent - he has already scored 28 goals against "Atletico" in his career. That's an average of 0.78 goals per match.
