What: Spanish La Liga
Who: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
When: Sunday 16th December, 2012, at 20:00 UK time
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Golden Chance
There is no doubt that Barcelona’s encounter with Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou will be the highlight match of the weekend’s La Liga football. Already eleven points ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, Barcelona have a golden opportunity to consolidate their lead of the Spanish chart, as a win against Atletico Madrid would put them nine points ahead of the second-placed Mattress Makers. However, Atletico will certainly prove to be a tough test.
The highlight of Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Cordoba in the Copa del Rey in midweek was Lionel Messi’s two goals, which saw him further surpass Gerd Muller as the man with most goals in a single calendar year. Messi now has 88 strikes to his name so far in 2012, and that number is surely expected to rise as the reigning Ballon d’Or winner looks set to retain his prestigious prize.
Barcelona are natural favourites for this one, but that does not mean that they will find things easy against Atletico Madrid, according to midfielder Xavi. “Atletico are very strong. They have a good dynamic style, play well on the counter-attack and have a good striker in Radamel Falcao”, he said.
Three Precious Points
Six points off the pace of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid know that their match against the Blaugrana will be crucial in the title race, as a memorable win at the Camp Nou would cut the gap between the two sides to just three points and leave everything up for grabs ahead of the Christmas break. For Diego Simeone’s men, all of their hard work comes down to this point.
While the reigning Europa League champions could not break their Madrid derby curse against bitter rivals Real Madrid at the start of the month, Atletico Madrid responded magnificently in their next league game against Deportivo La Coruna, thrashing the Galicians 6-0 in a game where Radamel Falcao managed five strikes himself.
High hopes seem to have engulfed Atletico Madrid for this one, as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois admitted that his side are not afraid of anyone. “We are not afraid of Messi or any player who takes on Atletico”, blasted the man on loan from Chelsea. However, Courtois will be aware of the threat that Messi poses as the Argentine managed to put three past him last season in the corresponding fixture at the Camp Nou, which ended 5-0 to Barcelona.
Recent form
Barcelona:
Barcelona 0-0 Benfica (05/12; Champions League)
Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona (09/12; La Liga)
Cordoba 0-2 Barcelona (12/12; Copa del Rey)
Atletico Madrid:
Viktoria Plzen 1-0 Atletico Madrid (06/12; Champions League)
Atletico Madrid 6-0 Deportivo La Coruna (09/12; La Liga)
Atletico Madrid 3-0 Getafe (12/12; Copa del Rey)
Key absences
Barcelona: Cesc Fabregas; Marc Muniesa; Eric Abidal; Isaac Cuenca
Atletico Madrid: Cristian Rodriguez
Players to watch
Barcelona – Andres Iniesta: While Messi is stealing the spotlight; it has almost been forgotten that Iniesta is one of the three candidates for the Ballon d’Or. The midfielder has little time left to impress should he want to win the award.
Atletico Madrid – Arda Turan: Similarly to Iniesta, Turkish midfielder Arda Turan has seen his good showings overshadowed by those of a team-mate, star Radamel Falcao. Playing on the left side of midfield, he will certainly pose a threat to Brazilian Daniel Alves.
Match Prediction
The meeting between Spain’s two best sides this term will certainly be an entertaining one. Atletico Madrid’s trip to Barcelona should prove to be a measuring stick as to how much they have improved this season, but with the Catalan giants in general and Messi in particular firing on all cylinders, a victory is very difficult to envisage at the Camp Nou for Diego Simeone's men. Barcelona 3-1 Atletico Madrid.
