Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid – Match Preview

These two sides may occupy the top two spots in La Liga at the moment but Tonight the focus shifts to Champions League rivalry as Barcelona play host to Atletico Madrid.

This is a repeat of the 2014 Quarter Finals in which Atletico got the better of their domestic rivals and went all the way to the Final in which they were a minute away from winning the trophy but for their cross city enemies Real taking the game to Extra Time and then going on to comfortably win the match.
Diego Simeone’s side will be looking to go halfway to repeating that feat with a win at the Nou Camp. It was also back in 2014 when they won La Liga at this very ground thanks to a second half Diego Godin header. It’s more than likely that the tie won’t be decided Tonight but Atletico would love to take an advantage back to the Vincente Calderon for the 2nd leg.

They warmed up for this game in perfect fashion with a 5-1 thumping of Real Betis on Saturday, that win closed the gap at the top of La Liga to 6 points after Barcelona finally had their 39 game unbeaten run ended after defeat in El Clasico.

It was a quiet night for MSN as neither Messi, Suarez or Neymar managed to get on the score sheet. The team as a whole also failed to make the most of their numerical advantage once Sergio Ramos was sent off. They will no doubt be looking to bounce back from that defeat but Atletico certainly won’t make it easy.

The question is whether Atletico approach this game differently Tonight, with it not being a League game maybe they just have to try and not concede (easier said than done) or perhaps try and nick an away goal on the counter attack.

Barcelona will have no doubt been wounded after Saturday’s El Clasico defeat and I would be very surprised if they were to lose twice in the space of three days. I’ll go for a Barcelona win Tonight and a return to the goals for either or who knows maybe even all of the MSN. The tie won’t be finished here but Barcelona to be in the driving seat. Home win.

 

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