The top 2 in La Liga face off at Nou Camp in a pivotal game in the title race which could basically be decided here!
Currently with 8 games to go, Barcelona seem to be safely ahead of Atletico by 8 points, however the job isn’t finished yet and they need to get a result otherwise the gap could get cut to 5 points if Atletico were to win and the title race may re-open up again. With a win, Barca would go 11 pts clear and pretty much put any questions to bed concerning the La Liga winners. This really is a MUST win for Atletico if they want any shot to catch Barca.
This game has a huge contrast of styles, whereas Barcelona are the most entertaining team goal scoring wise with 79 goals in the league this season while being relatively leaky defensively having conceded 31, Atletico Madrid are more of a defensive side and their defensive record (19 goals conceded – best in the league) shows that. Expect Barca to control the possession and Atletico to attempt to hit them on counters.
Barcelona are currently on some great form across all competitions, especially in the league. Although they had their win streak snapped midweek against Villarreal in a crazy 4-4 draw where they came back from 2 goals down with 2 90 min goals, Barcelona have won 6 of their last 7 league games and are undefeated in 18 straight La Liga games entering this weekend which has got them on top of the league by a good margin.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid after entering the international break after a couple of heartbreaking defeats to Juventus and Bilbao have seemingly bounced back after the break with 2 impressive wins dismantling Alaves 0-4 away from home and then beating Girona 2-0 during the midweek fixture so it seems like everything is fine again with Simeone’s men entering this weekend.
Barcelona have been near invincible again at Nou Camp all season long. Although they aren’t the best home team (Atletico have more home points), Barcelona have only lost 1 game in Nou Camp all season long and have been the most explosive team in the league at home with a ridiculous 44 goals there. Barcelona have won 7 of their last 8 league games at home (1D) so their current form is very good at home. It’s going to take a serious effort for Atletico to win here considering Barca have only lost 1 league game at home since the start of last season.
Away form is something that has let Atletico down in the title race this season. Although they lost just 3 of 15 away league games, they have had quite a few draws (6) which is as many as away wins (also 6) in the league. Atletico did win 3 of their last 4 league away games though including beating Alaves 0-4 in their most recent travel so despite overall away record not being so good, Atletico have been a bit better lately on their travels in the league.
There is no question who the man to watch for Barcelona. Of course it’s Lionel Messi. A ridiculous 44 goal contributions in the league (32G 12A), you can expect him to score and assist whenever he steps on the pitch and just all season long he’s shown ridiculous form without any slippage. Messi has scored in each of his last 5 apps having scored 9 goals in those so it’s safe to say he’s on RED HOT FORM.
As for Atletico, Antoine Griezmann is the man to watch. 21 goal contributions in the league (13G 8A), not quite Messi’s level but Griezmann loves a big game and tends to perform in these types of crucial games. Although Griezmann hasn’t been on great form lately just going through a 7 game goal drought which he did snap against Girona during midweek, he still is by far Atletico’s most dangerous player going forward.
The reverse fixture ended with a 1-1 draw as Barcelona snatched a last minute equaliser to snatch a point away from Atletico.
Looking at recent H2H, these sides tend to play close games without much goal scoring. Barcelona are unbeaten in 7 in a row against Atletico, but 4 of those games did end in 1-1 draws. Furthermore looking at H2H at Nou Camp, Atletico haven’t won here since 2006 which is 18 straight games (7D 11L). H2H definitely favours Barcelona here.
Barcelona are offered as bookies favourites to win this game at 1.75 whereas Atletico are a long shot at 4.85 with Draw tipped at 3.80. Odds based on Unibet.
Team News
Barcelona: Ousmane Dembele and Rafinha are both out with injuries while midfielder Arturo Vidal is suspended.
Atletico Madrid: Strikers Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata have both picked up injuries and are expected to miss out on the clash. Thomas Lemar is also likely to be out and Lucas Hernandez is officially out.
Betting Stats
Barcelona have covered 46.7% of their total goal overs at home in the league this season (7-1-7).
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