There is a huge match-up in the Spanish La Liga on Saturday, when Atletico Madrid will play host to Barcelona. Both teams will return from the international break looking for a positive result. Atletico Madrid was terrific right before the break and are always a huge obstacle when they play at home. Barcelona met a terrible loss before the break and actually failed to win each of their last two. But they have dominated this match-up in recent years and will look to do so again.
Atletico Madrid (6-1-5) made a somewhat shaky start in the season but quickly found their footing and have been really stable ever since. In their last match, they played a really passionate game at home against Athletic Bilbao and eventually fought really hard to win by 2-3. Their opponents took the lead twice in that match, at the 36h and 64th minute with Iniaki Williams. But Atletico Madrid pulled even once in the 61st with Thomas and once again at the 80th with Rodrigo, only to score a late goal at the stoppage time with Godin to steal all three points from that match. That means that Atletico Madrid is now undefeated in their last five, winning four in the process. In their previous game, they beat Dortmund by 0-2 at home for the Champions League and are now leading their group with 9 points after 4 matches. Atletico Madrid is currently sitting at the 3rd spot of the La Liga with 23 points, just as many as Alaves below them and Sevilla above them. All three teams are two points ahead of Espanyol and only one point behind league leaders Barcelona. Atletico Madrid has the best home record in the league so far (5-0-1), where they also have two wins for the Champions League. They have conceded four goals in all competitions at home while keeping four clean sheets too. They will be missing Godin and Gimenez in this match, while Costa, Hernandez, Koke, Lemar, and Savic are doubtful.
On the other hand, Barcelona (7-2-3) might be leading the La Liga but have not been the Barcelona we knew. To be honest, the whole La Liga is a little bit weird this season, as a lot of the big teams are struggling, while a lot of medium teams are doing great. Barcelona has won just 7 of their 12 matches so far but is still sitting at the top with 24 points. But Alaves are only one point behind them, a team that might be struggling to avoid relegation next season. A great example of Barcelona’s struggles can be found in their last match where they lost by 4-3 at home against Betis. Yes, their opponents took a two-goal lead in the first half where they actually dominated Barcelona. The two teams exchanged goals in the second half, but Betis did great to hold on to their lead and grabbed a nice win. Barcelona failed to win their previous match as well, where they split the points in a 1-1 away draw against Inter Milan in the Champions League that eventually saw them through to the next round. Barcelona has been excellent on the road so far in all competitions (5-1-2) but has kept just two clean sheets in the process. Barcelona will be missing Vermaelen and Samper who are injured, Rakitic who is suspended and Coutinho is listed as questionable.
