Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona : Match preview

Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona

Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona : Match preview

No team has yet retained proudly the Champions League but 12 days ago it seemed as if no-one would ever have a better chance than FC Barcelona. Running away with La Liga, inspired by the outstanding performance from three best players in the world – who somehow gelled each other even better than they would otherwise do – they were threatening to do what even the great Pep Guardiola squad could not.

Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona : Match preview

Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona
Unstoppable Messi

From the Club World Cup in Japan back in last December, to their 3-1 defeat of Arsenal just last month, they won 22, drew two and lost none of 24 competitive matches.

And yet somehow in the last few weeks the charm of such great run has come off. First Barcelona drew 2-2 at Villarreal, then they were beaten 2-1 at home in the El Clasico by Real Madrid, a defeat that relaunched the title race. Then, on last Saturday, they managed to lose 1-0 at mid-table contender Real Sociedad. One point from three games is now their worst league run since May 2009, when Pep Guardiola’s team already had the title won and were preparing for their exciting Champions League final with Manchester United.

Amid this bad run Barcelona hosted Atletico Madrid last week in their Champions League Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona quarter-final first leg. They were 1-0 down and seemed to be short of answers when Fernando Torres was sent off. Although they eventually turned the game around to win 2-1 it did little to stop the questions about whether this team has finally lost some of its edge.

Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona
Neymar and Messi

Although Barcelona take the comfortable lead to the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night, 2-1 happens to be the most even scoreline, and they will be wary of the fact that Atletico will be playing for a tight 1-0 win that will send them through easily. All eyes will be on the Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona encounter.

 

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