La Liga braces for a clash that could have massive title race ramifications as Barcelona visit Spain's capital to face Atlético Madrid.
Atlético Madrid is the only team Barcelona have played twice without a win during the Hansi Flick era. Alexander Sørloth's two stoppage time goals at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys this season have seen Atleti escape with a win in the reverse fixture La Liga and a draw in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semifinals.
Now, Barcelona will travel to the Metropolitano for the first time this season for their third meeting, hoping that third time's a charm as they look to build a four point gap to Atlético in the title race.
It's been a tough week for Diego Simeone's men. A loss against Getafe in La Liga last weekend meant they couldn't take advantage of Barcelona having their game postponed to go top of the league, instead they fell to third. Then, another heartbreaking exit from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid could heavily impact the team's morale heading into the crucial Barça visit.
Barcelona, on the other hand, are flying high. Fresh off punching their ticket to the Champions League quarterfinals, in the midst of a six-game La Liga winning streak, and with an almost entirely healthy squad. Flick's men will look to continue the great form going into the international break.
Here's how Barcelona could lineup vs. Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano.
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Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Atletico Madrid (4-2-3-1)
GK: Wojciech Szczęsny—Szczęsny remains untouchable between the sticks.
RB: Jules Koundé—The Frenchman is having the best season of his career.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—Cubarsí will return after missing the second leg vs. Benfica through suspension.
CB: Iñigo Martínez—Martínez will stay in the lineup to partner Cubarsí like they did for almost the entirety of the first half of the season.
LB: Alejandro Balde—Balde was excellent in in the midweek game vs. Benfica, recording an assist and looking dangerous on the left flank.
CM: Frenkie de Jong— De Jong is starting to look like his old Ajax self in recent games.
CM: Pedri—Pedri has put up man of the match performances in both games vs. Atleti this season
RW: Lamine Yamal—Fresh off a record-breaking performance, Yamal will look to end a La Liga scoring drought that dates back to El Clásico in October.
AM: Dani Olmo—Olmo gets the nod as the most advanced midfielder.
LW: Raphinha—Another stellar showing in the Champions League puts Raphinha in pole position for the Ballon d'Or award.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Atletico Madrid: La Liga.
