Barcelona were handed a significant blow in their pursuit of the La Liga title by Celta Vigo on Saturday with the Catalans failing to earn all three points from the match. The team knows that they cannot afford any such slip-ups in their remaining games as that would further put Real Madrid in the driving seat for the league. Moreover, the Spanish giants would also have to hope that the Madrid based club drop some points from their matches so that Barca can claw their way back in the race. With that in mind, they welcome Atletico Madrid in the midweek hoping that they would be able to improve their display.
Predicted 4-3-3 Barcelona Lineup Vs Atletico Madrid
Defence
Marc-André ter Stegen could be partially blamed for the second goal against Celta, but we expect him to keep his place in the side. The performances of the centre-backs the other night were dismal, but Gerard Piqué would still be bestowed with the duty to lead the defence, with Lenglet as his companion.
Umtiti, who made a rare start in the last match, failed to impress and would, therefore, be demoted to the bench. Roberto is still out injured, and thus Semedo should be placed at the right-back position. Alba did no good for his team in the last encounter. Firpo replaced him, and the youngster managed to make a few darting runs through the flanks. Hence, we expect Firpo to take his position at the left-back slot for this match.
Midfield
Barcelona sorely missed Sergio Busquets in the last game as the Spaniard was out suspended. He will be back for this clash and Setien would place him at the centre of the midfield. Puig was a breath of fresh air at the centre of the pitch and impressed one and all with his creativity and agility. Being relatively fresh, the 20-year-old should accompany Busquets in the midfield. De Jong is still out injured, and thus the manager may have no other alternative but to field Rakitic in a more advanced position as compared to last time.
Attack
Luis Suarez scored a brace for the side in the last game, although his overall creativity at the front was limited. The veteran striker should again lead the line for his team this time around. Messi will have to be at his best if Barcelona are to have any chance of coming out on top against Atletico in their next match. From the left-hand side, we again expect Fati to ply his trade as the other alternatives of the Barcelona forward line have been incredibly lacklustre.
