Atletico Madrid – Barcelona

Atletico Simeone sets defensive traps for Barcelona

Atletico will play at home against Barcelona on Sunday, 08 January. Diego Simeone's side are hoping for positive momentum. "The Indians started by beating weaker opponents in the second half. In particular, they managed to beat Elche in La Liga. Joao Felix's appearance in the starting line-up is noteworthy. The Portuguese has been sent off to other clubs, but so far, the young talent has been helping Atletico. Antoine Griezmann is also in fine form. The Frenchman registered a goal in the match against Elche. Atletico are Eurocup-less and will not take part in the Spanish Super Cup. The club can safely play in the week-long cycle. This gives a significant advantage in terms of stamina. Diego Simeone has a huge squad of players. The considerable loss before the match with Barcelona is defender Hermoso. The player picked up a far from mandatory red card. There are no losses in the attacking group. Barcelona, on the other hand, will not be able to count on Robert Lewandowski. That's for sure now. The Pole will miss three matches due to his scandalous suspension. Robert played against Espanyol, but it did not help the Catalans much. The player botched several goalscoring chances in the Catalan derby. Barcelona were far from their best match, but still objectively should have beaten Espanyol in terms of quality of goalscoring chances. The encounter ended 1-1. Barcelona conceded the only goal on penalties. It was only the third defeat for Xavi's side in La Liga this season. Curiously, the club has only lost points away to Real Madrid once. Now, there is a second trip to Madrid, where Barcelona are the favourites. This is a clear-cut scenario, but the state of Xavi's team against a top-flight opponent is a mystery. The match against Espanyol confirmed fears that the performers lacked freshness. There are questions about Barcelona's entire attacking line-up. Lewandowski is out for three games, Rafinha looks very weak for Barcelona so far, Fati is not fulfilling expectations after injury, Dembele is tired and depressed by the World Cup outcome. This set of players risks considerable difficulty in Madrid, where Diego Simeone will set the traditional defensive traps. At the moment, the Argentine's defensive tactics are in favour. Madrid are traditionally difficult for Barcelona. Of their last four matches, they have only managed to win one. Not once has the total exceeded three. The opponents' games are usually played on Barcelona's pitch. It is logical to predict a cautious match in which the visitors won't mind a draw.