5 factors that will decide the Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid encounter
It is one of the classic La Liga encounters. Barcelona v Atletico Madrid. The Blaugrana v the Rojiblancos. Catalonia v Madrid.In many respects, this fixture has taken on more significance than El Clasico in recent times. Atleti won their first league title in 18 years at Camp Nou in 2014, Barca repaid the favour at the Vicente Calderon a year later.Now we come to a league game of the utmost importance. A win for the hosts and they go three clear with a game in hand. Were Barca to win that then a six point lead at this stage, whilst not insurmountable, will be very difficult to bridge.Let’s take a look at five factors that will decide this encounter
#1 Fortress Camp Nou
Let’s be honest, there aren’t too many teams that go to Camp Nou believing that they’ll come away with the three points. Visitors are often beaten before a ball is kicked, such is the record that many opposition teams have at the Blaugrana cathedral of football.
Strangely enough, Atletico Madrid also fall into that bracket. Despite their best efforts, they have one of the worst records of any visiting team and haven’t actually won a game at Camp Nou for 10 years. Given the nature of Atleti’s all-action physical game, and the players that have recently passed through – Falcao, Costa, Torres, Aguero, Forlan et al – it seems barely possible that the mattress makers have been unable to register a single victory in all of that time.
The weight of history evidently falls very heavily on their shoulders but history is there to be rewritten and Diego Simeone will at the very least ensure his charges will be ultra competitive in this one.