The Catalans, after three domestic titles last season—the first under Flick—have only managed to win the Super Cup so far this year. In La Liga, they are in a tight race with Real Madrid, which has been successful so far. However, their current opponent eliminated them in the cup semifinals, conceding only three times at Camp Nou after a 4-0 defeat at home. In La Liga, Simeone’s side has fallen behind the leading pair and is now competing with Villarreal for third place.
In the Champions League, Yamal and company were not particularly impressive in the group stage, losing twice but winning five games. They eventually finished fifth, so they started the knockout phase from the round of 16—drawing away at Newcastle, where they had won in September. However, they thrashed the English side at home.
The visitors had only four wins in the group stage along with three losses, which meant they had to return to the tournament in February. After missing out on a win in Bruges, they confidently beat the Belgians at home. The tie with Tottenham was also settled at home—after a 5-2 result, they allowed the English side to win at home, 3-2.
Previous Matches: Barcelona vs Atletico
The Catalans had three consecutive wins before being knocked out of the cup as mentioned. And on Saturday, they were stronger again.
A repeat thrashing may not occur. But the Catalans are expected to defeat Madrid again (odds – 1.61).
Barcelona vs Atletico: Key Statistics and Trends
Barcelona have won four of their last five league matches
The team scores three goals per match here, but also concedes 1.7 on average
Atletico have won here in two of their last six encounters
The club scores an average of 2.58 goals and concedes two per match
Barcelona vs Atletico: Probable Starting Lineups
Barcelona will play a 1-4-3-3 formation (probable lineup): Garcia – Kounde, Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Cancelo – Bernal, Pedri, Fermin – Yamal, Lewandowski, Rashford. De Jong, Raphinha, and Christensen will not play.
Atletico will play a 1-4-4-2 formation (probable lineup): Musso – Molina, Gimenez, Witsel, Hermoso – Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Riquelme – Griezmann, Morata. Oblak, Pubil, and Cardoso are injured.
