The Catalans stunned Atletico Madrid by recording a 3-1 win in the last meeting between the two sides and Diego Simeone's men will be looking to make a swift response.

Fixtures cannot come more difficult than this for Atleti who have faced Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona thrice in their last four games and are set to go against the Blaugrana once again on Wednesday in a Copa del Rey encounter.

Despite a difficult run of fixtures Los Colchoneros  have fared well in recent games and booked a fixture against Barcelona in the competition after a hard fought victory over Real Madrid over two legs. However Atletico did stumble against their opponents on Wednesday, when the two sides met at Camp Nou last week. This means that Diego Simeone will have to come up with fresh tactics in order to get the better of the Catalans who are in red hot form.

Be prepared for a tactical switch

Atletico were taken by surprise when Luis Enrique altered his tactics by pushing out Lionel Messi to the wings and handing new arrival Luis Suarez the number nine role. Messi caused panic in the opposition half repeatedly and put up a tenacious display which saw him recording a goal and an assist to guide his side to a 3-1 victory.

Diego Simeone and Atletico should be prepared for further mind games and should Enrique tweak his tactics again, Atleti should have a Plan B in place.

Protect the wings

Atletico's plan to crowd the midfield in last week's game back fired as Barca tore them apart from the wings. Messi and Neymar in particular were too hot to handle for the Atletico defence. Both men got themselves on the scoresheet in an industrious display to which the Atletico defence had no response.
If Atleti are to have any chance of recording a win on Wednesday, it is important that they keep Barca's wide men at bay. Apart from Messi and Neymar, Barcelona also have in their ranks attacking full backs who can also cause a lot of trouble.

Neutralise the midfield

Whereas Barcelona caused havoc down the flanks during their 3-1 win, the midfield dictators in the middle of the park performed their roles to perfection and must be neutralised. Even though the front three won all the plaudits, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta both performed their roles with aplomb, dictating play from the deep and distributing passes to the wide men who did the rest.

Atletico have a number of play breakers in the squad who will have to put a tireless display to give their team an upper hand during the match against Barca.

Play on counters

This is one area Atleti are very strong at and can punish Barcelona. Diego Simeone's side can withstand attacks for lengthy periods and then respond with a swift counter attack to punish the opposition. The presence of Antoine Griezmann has made the task even easier for Atletico. The Frenchman possesses a tremendous amount of pace and has been a catalyst to a number of goals the team has scored in recent games.

The former Real Sociedad man was on fire against Real Madrid in the second leg and showed great pace to get the better of Pepe and then used his vision to send an inch perfect cross for Torres' first goal. Griezmann then settled the tie with another set up for the Spaniard and Atletico will once again need a top performance from their man in form.

Make use of set pieces

This is one area Atletico have a clear upper hand over their counterparts and they must use it to their benefit on Wednesday. Diego Simeone's side is physically much stronger than Barcelona and the presence of Mario Mandzukic and Fernando Torres makes them a much bigger threat especially from corners. Both of Atletico's strikers have been in good form recently and must make good use of the limited chances they get if Atleti are to win.
 

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Barcelona 1 - 0 Atlético Madrid

January 21, 2015 4:00pmCamp Nou (Barcelona)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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