Welcome back to TalkBarca. Our topic for today is the Match Preview of Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona. Barcelona and Atletico are ready to go head to head again in Saudi Arabia in the Super Copa De Espana Semi Final. Both teams have met once in La Liga this season, and Barcelona won the match with a 1-0 scoreline courtesy of a great strike by Lionel Messi. However, this game is really different, and the conditions are not similar as in Spain. This game is going to be worth watching, and I expect good football from our team.
We know how tough Atletico can be. We barely won our last encounter. Therefore, we should not take them lightly. They have the arsenal to hit us if we give them an opportunity. However, I think we are going to have more crowd support, as the Saudis love Barcelona. I think that the team is going to enjoy it being there and I really hope that we emerge victoriously. Anyways, let’s start our Match Preview of Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona.
BARCELONA VS ATLETICO MATCH PREVIEW
Barcelona is going to face Atletico Madrid in the 2nd Semi Final of Copa De Espana. The first Semi Final took place yesterday between Valencia and Real Madrid and ended with a 1-3 scoreline in favor of Madrid. So, Real Madrid are already in the final. Whoever wins the second Semi Final will face Real Madrid in the final of Super Copa De Espana. It’s either going to be an El Classico or a Madrid Derby in the Final which is something worth watching.
Kick Off Time:
Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona will kick off at 08:00 PM as per local time in Spain. You can check the Kick off time for your respective region in the following image:
Squad:
The club named a squad of 24 players who are selected to travel to Saudi Arabia for to compete in Super Copa De Espana. These players are:
- Goalkeepers: Neto, Pena, and Tenas.
- Defenders: Semedo, Pique, Todibo, Lenglet, Wague, Alba, Umtiti, Firpo, and Araujo.
- Midfielders: Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto, De Jong, Vidal, and Puig.
- Forwards: Suarez, Messi, Griezmann, Perez, Collado, and Ansu Fati.
Expected Lineup:
Goalkeeper:
Ter Stegen is out on injury and this means Neto is going to start this game. However, this is going to make our goalkeeping areas vulnerable, and this is also going to affect our defense somehow. We know that Ter Stegen is a really important player in our squad. He leads the team from the back, and his passing sense is also of really high caliber.
He has 2 assists this season which is more than many midfielders and known playmakers in the league. This shows that he is a really good passer of the ball and can come to our aid in pressure situations. On the other side, Neto is completely opposite of him. Neto conceded 2 goals in his first La Liga game. It is true that he is a great talent, but he is nothing when you compare him to Ter Stegen. Neto needs a lot of playing time right now. Moreover, he needs to learn a lot before he can actually stand up and say that he can win matches for us.
Defense:
I expect our four regular defenders to start the game. Gerrard Pique and Lenglet are the most likely starters as the Center Backs. Pique and Lenglet need to be on their toes for the entire game if they want to perform well in this game. Pique needs to step onto the pitch with the same mindset which he showed in the El Classico. He cannot take this game lightly, because we know that Real Madrid is already in the finals.
We have to win this game in order to qualify for the final, and work towards the first trophy of the season. Jordi Alba and Roberto are the likely Left Back, and Right back players. Both of them performed brilliantly against Espanyol, and they need to continue with the same mindset. We really need our defense to click in this game otherwise, Atletico is easily going to knock us out of the Super Copa De Espana.
Midfield:
Valverde needs to start with the right midfield combo if he actually wants his team to win. I think Vidal deserves a place in the starting squad. He has been performing with consistency lately, and he partners up brilliantly with De Jong and Busquests.
De Jong is an obvious starter in the midfield. He is also really consistent, and one of the best performing players for us the entire season. We need him to shine again in this game, and he hopefully will. De Jong and Sergio make a perfect duo in the midfield. We are surely going to miss Arthur in our midfield as he is out injured. His return is going to light things up in the midfield. As for now, I think De Jong, Sergio Busquests, and Vidal would make a perfect trio in the midfield to start against Atletico.
Attackers:
Our attack is really sorted and needs to be on point if we want to dominate Atletico Madrid. Messi had an awful game against Espanyol and this is something we don’t want him to repeat against Atletico Madrid. Griezmann is in good form and is having good games recently. However, Atletico is going to pressure him mentally as well.
We know how Atletico fans treated him when we went away to the Wanda Metropolitano. He should expect the same to happen when we come across Atletico again. However, he must look forward to performing better than how he did in the previous fixture.
Luis Suarez is in great form as well. He is scoring goals consistently and is really shining for us at the moment. We want him to continue his form and I hope that he keeps scoring goals for us. Luis is one of those players we really want to shine in this fixture.
TACTICAL ANALYSIS
We really need to be on point tactically if we want to grab a win in this fixture. Our fullbacks need to connect well with our attackers. We know that Atletico’s defense is going to pressurize Griezmann a lot. Therefore, Jordi Alba must be present in order to provide him support and allow him to penetrate centrally while he covers the line.
Secondly, we need to make sure that we leave Messi unmarked, and uncovered as much as we can. We know that Messi is going to create the real difference in this lineup, especially in our attack. Therefore, we need to ensure that he gets more and more time to penetrate into the opposition defense and do his magic.
Our Center Backs need to make sure that they do not lack the coordination and chemistry within them. Lenglet needs to stay on his toes, and avoid the clumsy errors he usually does. Pique needs to play with energy and needs to link up plays with the midfield instead of clearing every ball. Our defenders need to ensure that they leave Neto as much uninvolved as they can because he is new to the team and can commit mistakes out of panic.
Score Prediction:
Atletico Madrid is always a tough opponent regardless of which league we face them in. We need to maintain our composure, and if we do, we are definitely going to win this. My final verdict is that Barcelona is Atletico Madrid 1 – 2 Barcelona.
Verdict:
Anyway, guys, this is it from the Match Preview of Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona. I hope you like our Match Preview. Until the next time guys, Visca El Barca!
