It’s an all Spanish affair with Barcelona take on Atlético Madrid in the Champions League Quarter Finals..
When ex-Barca winger Luis Figo picked his old side to go against Atlético, no one could have guessed that this was not just any other Champions League quarterfinal matchup. The two teams top the La Liga with Atlético edging Barca by ONE point at the top of the table.
Although the two teams have met each other thrice this season, the stakes have never been higher. With both the La Liga and Champions League coming to an end, both teams will want to do one over the other!
Defence
Both the defenses pick themselves. Except for the goalkeepers. Chelsea loanee Courtois will start for Atlético while Pinto starts for Barca as Valdes is sidelined with injury.
Barcelona will have a back four which have played as a unit for most of the season. Club captain Puyol will pair up with Pique in the middle flanked by Dani Alves and Jordi Alba on the right and left flanks respectively. The only weakness in this back four will be their inability to defend set pieces due to the lack of overall team height. But otherwise, they are the epitome of the phrase “attack starts from the defense”.
Atlético have a relatively better record in La Liga, conceding only 22 goals all season till date. Miranda and Godin will be flanked by Insua and Juanfran on the wings. Although the mindset of Atlético is to defend as a team, the only draw back of this team is that they cannot avoid offsides. And with Bara’s formidable offence, it could be their Achilles’ heel.
Midfield
Midfield will be the area of the pitch where we see the ball being played around the most. Barca love to play possession based football while Atlético like to hit quick counters from the wings with pace and power.
The Barca trio of Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi will do what they do best. Short passes between themselves and the forwards in front of them. Expect these three to dominate the pass statistics. From short passes and long diagonals to switch play to the opposite flank to those killer through balls to split defenses into two. They have it all.
Atlético will go for a more traditional 5 man midfield. Defensive anchor Gabi will be key in organizing his midfield to nullify the Barca attack. He’ll be partnered with either Thiago or M. Suarez in the CDM role. They will be joined with Koke on the right, Turan on the left and Garcia enjoying the free role in the middle, behind the striker. Expect a hard working shift from this lot. Barca at Camp Nou will dominate possession and thus Atlético will have to be patient and take their chances as and when they come.
Attack
The attacking third sees two different approaches for the two teams. Barca will look to attack through the middle with Messi in the middle of everything. Atlético will try to attack through the wings and look to Costa as their focal point.
Lionel Messi will be the center of all things in the attacking third for Barca. Flanked by Pedro and Neymar, the Barca attack are not short of pace. The individual dribbling skills of Neymar and Messi will allow them to carry the ball while looking for the decisive pass to the midfield runners.
Diego Costa. As always, Atlético will base their attack around Costa – his movement, his run-ins with the centre-backs, and his finishing. Costa is brilliant at drifting to the flanks before taking on the centre-backs in wide positions, he springs into action when Atlético play on the break.
What to expect?
Expect a free flowing passing game from Barca while Atlético will look to hit them with counters. There won’t be many goals as history may suggest (2 goals in total in past 3 meetings between the two sides). But a good game of football nonetheless!
