It is definitely a bad time to play an opponent like Atletico Madrid for Barcelona now. While Diego Simeone’s men are brimming with confidence after their enthralling win away at Germany against Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona are having a bad patch, which led to a last-gasp win against relegation-threatened side Leganes last weekend.
Defence
Ter Stegen will take his position under the bar once again. After the goal fest against Paris Saint-Germain, the German shot-stopper looked jaded against Leganes last weekend. Manager Luis Enrique can only hope that he gets his confidence back against the dangerous Antoine Griezmann.
Enrique’s team selection has come to question after a disastrous defensive display saw Barcelona almost giving away the game to Leganes. The boss opted not to start with Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique in the central defence. We expect Alba to replace Lucas Digne on the left defensive flank and Pique to come in place of Jeremy Mathieu as the centre-back.
Pique is likely to start alongside Samuel Umtiti at the heart of the defence. A high-octane fixture such as against Atletico Madrid demands experience and Enrique shouldn’t experiment with his back line this time. Injury to Javier Mascherano has put the boss in real crisis and few options.
Choosing the right-back will be a huge problem for Enrique. Sergi Roberto seems to be suffering from lack of confidence in that position and injury to Aleix Vidal has been further exacerbated that situation. However, we expect the boss to stick with Roberto in that position as he has played there the most this season and in some pretty big games.
Midfield
Sergio Busquets remained absent from the squad last weekend after featuring in their humiliating defeat against PSG in the Champions League. Andre Gomez had started in the pivot position last game. We expect the experienced anchorman to return to the line-up for this fixture.
After a sloppy display against Leganes, Enrique will expect his midfield to buck up. Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic has been the best duo for Barcelona in the attacking midfield and Enrique is expected to stick with it. With Arda Turan out with a groin injury, Enrique is left with Rafinha in that position and he is expected to start from the bench this time.
Attack
The trio of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar will start the game. Last game was one of those rare occasions twice in a week that Barca’s famed attack failed to create any sort of impact. Against Atletico’s defence, which is always playing safe and happy to defend sitting deep, Barca would need the trio’s magic to create openings.
Messi’s brace earned Barcelona a crucial three points last game, which gave them the hope to keep going in the domestic league.
Neymar – Suarez – Messi
Rakitic – Busquets – Iniesta
Alba – Pique – Umtiti – Roberto
Ter Stegen
