Atletico vs. Barca – Spain poised for top of the table clash

Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino has problems. Good problems, but problems that nevertheless will cause some strain on his brain. That is because in the absence of Lionel Messi and Neymar, both Pedro and Alexis have shone equally in the last few matches leading up to the clash of the top two teams in Spain and every decision in the selection of the starting XI will be under scrutiny as this is a match that can have a big impact as to where the league title is going come the end of the season.

What with Martino’s relentless rotation, only a few players will be confident of their starting spots in the next match. Pique and Jordi Alba in defence. Busquets and Iniesta in midfield. Maybe even Fabregas to an extent. Neymar up front. I am not 100% sure that even Messi will start. After undergoing an intense fitness program in Argentina to recover from his injury and coming back to Barcelona, he did not start the last league game against Elche and only made a cameo appearance in the cup game against Getafe. Of course that cameo appearance allowed everyone who were itching to tweet ‘Back with a bang’ and ‘The king is back’ to go ahead and do it, nevertheless, Martino is showing that he is not afraid of making big decisions and will do only what he thinks is best for the team over the course of the season.

The king is back, with a bang!

Barca will feel that they could not have started the New Year in a better way after their wins over Elche and Getafe. They are now 8-0 up in 2014. In the absence of Messi and Neymar for the better duration, the two best attacking players at the club, to win games in such a comprehensive manner, and I am not talking just about the scoreline, will be a huge confidence boost for the rest of the team.

This is the biggest improvement that Martino has brought about in his short reign. He hasn’t backed away to give everyone a chance to prove themselves and give them his confidence. Talk about Marc Bartra, who has brought the desperate cries for a central defender to a murmur now, talk about Pedro, who has one of the best goals to shots ratio across Europe this season after a poor 2012-13, and talk about Alexis Sanchez, who has worked himself into some serious form after never really justifying his huge price tag for over two seasons. As a result, the team is now not as reliant on star players like Messi as it was before.

With Jordi Alba, Victor Valdes, Neymar and most importantly Messi, all back from injuries and available for selection against Atletico, there are simply no excuses that Barcelona can give in the event of a defeat. They could’t be in better shape and this match will be very useful for getting some feedback before the the Champions League clash against City because let’s face it, Barca won the league comfortably last season while they limped through each stage of the Champions League proving La Liga doesn’t really stretch Barca’s legs.

As far as Atletico is concerned, they are still getting the points, they are still fighting on all fronts, they are not out of any competition, but you get the feeling that teams are now starting to treat Atletico the same way they treat Barca and Real Madrid. With defensive discipline and consequently, shutting up shop.

In the last league game against Malaga, they were saved by a some individual trickery from Diego Costa. Although they were dominating the match, there were never any clear-cut chances as Malaga held their own defensively for the major part of the game. Also, lately Atletico has been benefiting a lot from set-pieces and while that is a good thing when playing against Barca, Diego Simeone would surely like to see more goals coming from good interlinking team play.

Still Atletico will be confident of their chances going into the game against Barca, since they have the home advantage and some very talented individuals in their lineup. More than Diego Costa, the first name that comes to my mind is Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian, who made some excellent saves in the midweek cup game against Valencia, is one hell of a last line of defence in this Atletico side. To win the Zamora trophy in Spain, pipping the likes of Casillas (although he did not play many matches) and Valdes, is enough to justify his credentials. And to think he is just 21!

At 1.98 m, Courtois is a line of defence all by himself

Another star for the future in this Atletico side is Koke. He is the epitome of the modern midfielder who is energetic and physically robust while being technically excellent. He belongs to the category of Ilkay Gundogan and Aaron Ramsey who are experts of transitional play – they are all over the pitch, they are very good at recovering the ball and setting things in motion, and then making themselves available to finish the move. And like Courtois, there is more to come from him as he is just 22 and unlike Courtois, he is not on loan, so expect clubs to line up for him in the near future. Hello Mr.Moyes, here is your midfielder!

For Saturday’s clash, the plot is pretty predictable. Atletico will close spaces and press intensely, harassing Iniesta and closing up on Messi, recover the ball and make a quick transition to attack through the likes of Arda Turan, David Villa and Diego Costa. It was very successful during the Super Cup and Simeone will ask a repeat performance from his players. However, Barca with Messi and Neymar should be too hot to handle for the Atletico defence and on their current form, Barca will be disappointed if they do not add 3 points to their tally when the referee blows the final whistle on Saturday.

Prediction: Atletico 1-2 Barca