It’s time for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to play catch up this Sunday, following Real Madrid’s straightforward 3-0 victory over Espanyol on Saturday. That result at the Santiago Bernabeu offered Los Blancos a four-point advantage at the top of the standings.
Both Barca and Atleti have 38 points in second and third position but the two teams are mindful that rivals Real Madrid will end Matchday 18 with a game in hand. Slipping is not an option. The losing side on Sunday could find itself as far as seven points behind La Liga’s summit by the time all teams would have played the same amount of games.
For Real Madrid, who have scores to settle against Diego Simeone’s men in the Copa del Rey, proceedings at the Camp Nou will be of huge interest and they will be hoping for a draw. Interestingly, the last six clashes between the Blaugrana and Atleti have produced five draws.
Barcelona's record in their last 6 games in all official competitions v Atletico Madrid: 0W - 5D - 1L #fcblive 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-1 1-0 1-1
— Barça (@BarcaStat) January 10, 2015
For Lionel Messi, this fixture will be an opportunity to find back his habit of scoring against Atletico. La Pulga had netted as many as 11 goals in his first 15 matches against the Rojiblancos and he counts 20 goals against them in total. However, the latter have been able to keep their lines clean from Messi’s rockets in the last seven official games.
Can the Argentine star – a day before the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or gala – break his hoodoo and inspire his team to a vital win?
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid team sheets
Barcelona starting XI: Bravo; Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar
Atletico Madrid starting XI: Moyá; Juanfran, Giménez, Godín, Jesús Gámez; Gabi, Tiago, Koke; Arda, Griezmann, Mandžukić
Barcelona bench: Ter Stegen, Pedro, Rafinha, Bartra, Sergi Roberto, Adriano, Munir
Atletico Madrid bench: Oblak, Siqueira, Miranda, Mario Suarez, Saul, Raul Garcia, Fernando Torres
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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