FC Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid match preview
This Sunday afternoon FC Barcelona will look to take all the positives from their mid-week Champion’s League thrashing of Panathinaikos, and improve on their mediocre league form, as they travel to the Spanish capital to take on league leaders Atletico at
the Vincente Calderon Stadium in Madrid on Sunday Afternoon.
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Despite their impressive 5-1 victory at home over the Greek side in mid-week, Barcelona's league form has not met early expectations as the reigning Spanish Champions were upset 2-0 last weekend by newly promoted Hercules on a pair of goals from Paraguayan
striker Nelson Valdez.
Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, have had and impressive start to the Spanish league season thrashing Sporting Gijon 4-0 in their season opener, and edging out Athletic Bilbao 2-1 last weekend. They were, however, upset by another Greek side, Aris, 1-0
last night in Europa League play.
Players to watch
Under the microscope for FC Barcelona will be newly acquired central midfielder Javier Mascherano who is still adapting to his new team-mates and the system which manager Pep Guardiola has in place. Mascherano has found himself deeply involved in the action
but has taken part in both a stunning victory, and a shocking loss. Guardiola will be looking to his central midfielder to provide his team with some much needed consistency and bring back the free-flowing form which has become the side’s trademark over recent
seasons. Barcelona’s passing approach has brought them unparalleled success including last season’s La Liga title. Two seasons ago they even achieved a first ever treble of league, domestic cup, and UEFA Champion’s League titles, and Mascherano will be expected
to be an integral part of continuing that success.
For Atletico, as always, the man to watch is Uruguayan super striker Diego Forlan. With one goal against Bilbao, and two more versus Gijon, Forlan has jumped out to an lead in the Spanish league scoring. It comes as no surprise coming off an impressive World
Cup performance for his country where Forlan was one of the tournament's top scorers and earned golden ball honors as the tournament's top player.
What to expect
Barcelona have struggled at the Vincente Calderon stadium in recent seasons and have found Atletico's counter-attacking style a challenge to deal with. A second consecutive league loss could be devastating to Barcelona's chances of repeating
as champions as they would find themselves in position of possibly playing catch up for the remainder of the season. Look for Guardiola to have done his homework with a mind to not have to start explaining himself to the board of directors, and his players
refusing to accept defeat.
With both teams having played during the week don't be shocked to see some of the regulars sitting on the bench to start the match. Expect the match to start slow with both sides playing tentative and behind the ball not wanting to make the first mistake,
and Barcelona should control possession for most of the match. A hard fought 1-1 draw might seem like an acceptable result for both sides.
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