Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: 5 players to watch out for | La Liga 2020-21
Barcelona host Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on Saturday. Both clubs are separated by a mere two points in La Liga after 34 matches.
At this stage of the season, Los Rojiblancos are barely clinging on to their slender lead at the top of the La Liga table, and neither side can afford to drop points.
Diego Simeone's side suffered a shocking 1-2 defeat in their recent outing against Athletic Club but managed to secure all three points while playing against Elche.
Meanwhile, Ronald Koeman's men have lost twice in their last five games, including a surprise defeat at the hands of Granada at Camp Nou a week ago.
Both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona will want to come away with a victory as they vie for the La Liga trophy alongside Real Madrid. On that note, here is an overview of the players who can be instrumental in the game.
#5 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
With 17 clean sheets and 22 goals conceded in 34 La Liga matches, Jan Oblak is en route to winning his fifth Zamora trophy ahead of the likes of Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois and Sevilla's Bono.
In the previous meeting between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Oblak played a crucial role in denying Clement Lenglet and Antoine Griezmann from getting onto the scoresheet. His efforts eventually contributed to Los Rojiblancos' narrow 1-0 victory over the Blaugranas.
Meanwhile, Barcelona's Andre-Marc ter Stegen has looked vulnerable and shaky in recent games. The German last kept a clean sheet in La Liga back in April when the Catalan giants beat relegation battlers Real Valladolid by a scoreline of 1-0.
#4 Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona)
After a poor start to his Barcelona career, Antoine Griezmann is finally finding his footing in Ronald Koeman's side. He has netted 12 goals and provided seven assists in 32 La Liga matches this season.
Additionally, the French striker has had a goal contribution in each of the last four games and is in great form going into the clash against Atletico Madrid. Koeman will certainly hope to capitalise on the 30-year-old's confidence in order to guide Barcelona to the top of the table.
The only worry is that Griezmann is yet to find the net against Atletico Madrid in La Liga despite scoring a goal over his former club in last season's Supercopa semi-final.