Hassan Chamas


What: Spanish La Liga
Who: Atletico Madrid (13th; 23 points) versus Barcelona (1st; 55 points)
When: Sunday 14th February, 2010, at 21:00 CET
Where: Vicente Calderon, Madrid, Spain

Good Neighbours

Following a triple feast with Racing Santander over the past week, eyes will be locked on the Vicente Calderon as Atletico Madrid welcome league leaders and champions Barcelona. Naturally, the Mattress Makers will be eager to avenge the 5-2 humiliation that Barcelona inflicted upon them in the corresponding fixture earlier this season. However, as is so commonly the case in Spain, this upcoming meeting has been given a new dimension, as various Real Madrid players have declared over the past week that they’d love to see their cross-town rivals beat Barcelona, allowing the Merengues to cut the five-point lead between them and their perennial foes.

For their part, Atletico have sent mixed signals this campaign: Mediocre in the league, brilliant in the cup, Quique Sanchez Flores’ team will have to step it up should they want any Champions League action next year, especially with the likes of Valencia and Sevilla around.



Defensive Dilemma

Since the 2-1 win over Getafe last weekend, the talk at the Catalan capital has centred around the suspension of both Gerard Pique and Rafael Marquez, and the growing list of injuries to a number of first team players.

Indeed, it is the first time since Pep Guardiola assumed charge at Barcelona that the Blaugrana have had such an expanding injury list. More specifically, the damage appears to be hitting his defence the most, with players such as Yaya Toure and Daniel Alves all set to miss out in the coming weeks. With Carles Puyol the only member of the regular back four able to play this weekend against Atletico, Guardiola held tryouts for various Barca youth-teamers this past week, hoping that one of them would be worthy of a call-up.

 

Recent form

Atletico Madrid:
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Racing Santander (Copa del Rey)
Racing Santander 1-1 Atletico Madrid (La Liga)
Racing Santander 3-2 Atletico Madrid (Copa del Rey)

Barcelona:
Real Valladolid 0-3 Barcelona (La Liga)
Sporting de Gijon 0-1 Barcelona (La Liga)
Barcelona 2-1 Getafe (La Liga)

Key absences

Atletico Madrid: None

Barcelona: Dmytro Chygrynskiy; Daniel Alves; Yaya Toure; Eric Abidal; Gerard Pique (suspension); Rafael Marquez (suspension)

Players to watch

Atletico Madrid – Sergio Aguero: “Kun” declared earlier this week that his team wants to beat Barcelona for their own sake, and not as a favour to Real Madrid. With three-quarters of the Azulgrana back-line not showing on Sunday, the little Argentine will have a golden chance to shine.

Barcelona – Carles Puyol: The Cules skipper will probably have to endure his toughest test so far this term. With usual comrades Pique, Alves and Abidal set to miss out on the trip to the Vicente Calderon. Puyol will have to be extra careful when dealing with the deadly threat of Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan.

Match prediction

It is not a secret that this match doesn’t come at the best of times for Pep Guardiola and his men. Facing a strong attacking team with a depleted defence is not something to smile about for any coach. Aguero and Forlan will be eager to avenge the corresponding loss at the Camp Nou earlier this season, and should succeed in doing so with gaping holes in Barcelona’s rear guard. Nevertheless, a win remains a bridge too far. An entertaining 2-2 draw.

Make sure you check out our Tipster’s betting preview of this game on the betting page, together with the hottest tips from this weekend’s games!

If you fancy a bet this weekend, remember to try out the unbeatable odds comparison service on Tip-ex.com!

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