BARCELONA, KOMPAS.com – Week 33 La Liga, the top caste of the Spanish League, presents a hot match Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid match will take place at the Camp Nou Stadium on Tuesday (6/30/2020) or Wednesday early morning WIB.
Seeing the squad and the condition of the team, Barcelona has the potential to slip on later matches.
Barcelona is currently exposed to unsavory issues following two draws in the last three Spanish League matches.
The latest, Barcelona failed to win full points after a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo in the match week 32, Saturday (06/27/2020).
Can only reach five points from the last three games to make Barcelona lose the top position.
The top standings are currently occupied by eternal rivals Barcelona, Real Madrid, who have just won five consecutive wins.
Also read: Rumor: Barcelona Plans to Fire Quique Setien at the End of the Season
Real Madrid now leads with a collection of 71 points two points ahead of Barcelona below it.
Barcelona dressing room is currently reportedly not conducive following the decline in performance.
Two senior Barcelona players, Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique, are said to be the source of the heat of the dressing room.
The two players reportedly did not like the strategy and comments from coach Quique Setien in the last three matches.
The issue was even made Barcelona reported to be fired Setien at the end of the season despite succeeding in bringing the team to the Spanish League and Champions League.
Compete with the issue of cracking in the dressing room is certainly not good for Barcelona who have ambitions to defend the Spanish League title this season.
Regarding team conditions, Barcelona still cannot be strengthened by Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie De Jong.
Arthur, who had just officially moved to Juventus, may not necessarily be demoted because he did not take part in Barcelona’s final training.
As for Sergi Roberto, who is recovering from an injury, his condition is also still doubtful because he just trained.
Also read: Messi Ignores Assistant Setien, Barcelona Hot Dressing Room?
This condition makes Barcelona only have three senior midfielders who are ready to be dropped, namely Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, and Arturo Vidal.
Facing a team like Atletico Madrid with three midfielders over 30 years old is certainly not a situation Barcelona wants.
Because, Atletico Madrid is famous for having tight defense and counterattack.
Barcelona is likely to rely on former Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann for later matches.
Griezmann has never played in the last three games and only once was revealed as a starter.
Griezmann’s experience playing for Atletico Madrid could be a key game for Barcelona in the game later.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid is on an upward trend in performance.
Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in five straight matches and have wiped out the last four matches.
Diego Simeone’s team is now ranked third in the standings with a collection of 58 points four points ahead of Sevilla below.
Also read: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid, Koke and Savic Confirmed Absent
If you’re not careful, Barcelona can slip back and farther away from Real Madrid.
Because, Atletico Madrid’s midfield when compared to Barcelona is much younger and faster.
Joao Felix, Thomas Lemar, and Angel Correa, are the attacking midfielders Atletico Madrid who are likely to be deployed in the match later.
The three players have the speed that can trouble the Barcelona back line through counterattacks.
Looking at the game characters of both teams, Atletico Madrid will likely let Barcelona dominate possession and rely on counterattacks.
Related to the condition of the team, Atletico Madrid’s weak point in the match will be the loss of team captain, Koke and central defender Stevan Savic.
The two players certainly could not appear because of the accumulation of cards.
Koke is likely to be replaced by Marcus Llorente to accompany Saul Niguez in midfield.
The role of Stevan Savic as a central defender can be replaced by Felipe.
Also read: Amidst Setien Sacking Rumors, Xavi is Ready to Bring His Staff to Barcelona
This season, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have met twice and beaten each other.
Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid first in Week 15 of the Spanish League, 1 December 2019.
At that time, Barcelona managed to humiliate Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium thanks to Lionel Messi’s mere goal.
Atletico Madrid then responded with a 3-2 victory in the Copa Del Rey semifinal match, January 9, 2020.
Prediction score:
- Whoscored: Barcelona 1-1 Atletico Madrid
- Squawka: Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid
- Kompas.com: Barcelona 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Predicted composition of the Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid players:
Barcelona: 1-Marc-Andre ter Stegen; 18-Jordi Alba, 15-Clement Lenglet, 3-Gerard Pique, 2-Nelson Semedo; 4-Ivan Rakitic, 5-Sergio Busquets, 22-Arturo Vidal; 7-Antoine Griezmann, 9-Luis Suarez, 10-Lionel Messi
Coach: Quique Setien
Atletico Madrid: 1-Jan Oblak; Santiago Arias, 2-Jose Gimenez, 18-Felipe, 12-Renan Lodi; 8-Saul Niguez, 16-Hector Herrera, 14-Marcos Llorente, 11-Thomas Lemar, 7-Joao Felix; 19-Diego Costa
Coach: Diego Simeone
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