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Atleti make one change from last weekend’s win over Getafe. Conor Gallagher is back, Samuel Lino drops out.
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Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1) Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Raphinha, Lopez, Gavi; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: R Araujo, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Pablo Torre, Pau Víctor, F De Jong, Szczęsny, Astralaga, Eric, Gerard Martin, Sergi Domínguez.
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Atletico Madrid (possible 4-4-2) Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, de Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez.
Substitutes: Azpilicueta, Correa, Koke, Lemar, Le Normand, Lino, Mandava, Molina, Musso, Riquelme, Sorloth, Witsel.
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Hello and welcome to live coverage of the weekend’s biggest fixture: Barcelona v Atletico Madrid at the Estadio Olimpic Lluis. It’s 1st v 2nd in La Liga, with Real Madrid breathing on the shoulders of both with increasing intensity. Not that anything can match the intensity of Atleti’s form: they’ve won 11 in a row in all competitions, including an incredible comeback from 3-1 down against Sevilla a fortnight ago.
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Barcelona have gone in the opposite direction. October’s orgy of goals has been followed by a really poor run of five points in six league games, which includes defeats at home to Las Palmas and Leganes. Maybe a game of this magnitude is what they need to get them going again. Both teams know that, if they win tonight, they’ll be top going into 2025.
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Kick off 8pm GMT, 9pm CET.
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main events
18 minutes Atlético's first threat. Gallagher clips a pass over the top to Simeone, who attempts to head the ball to Griezmann inside the area. Martinez gets there first and kicks the ball out.
15 minutes At the moment, Atlético cannot match Barcelona's intensity, regardless of the quality of their possession. But they defended solidly under relentless pressure and Oblak didn't make any difficult saves. still.
13 minutes Lopez's inswinging cross from the left side beat all the outfield players at the near post, and Oblak palmed it away. He read the play well and in doing so made more comfortable saves than he expected.
10 minutes Rafinha's cross was met by Gimenez who dived in and headed it in. Nothing came of the corner kick, but Barcelona continued to dominate from the start.
7 minutes “Rob, I was really looking forward to watching the Barça game,'' says Charles Antaki. “Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, so young and so great. But the Righteous Brothers had me in mind, and I think many others too. I lost the feeling. It's gone, it's gone, and Robert Lewandowski isn't going to get it back. Maybe Lamine Yamal…and Gabi…Pedri…well, I'll take a look. ”
I think you can see that Messi, Iniesta and Xavi are the correct order, just to allow for a Little Mix pun.
6 minutes Lewandowski headed Lopez's cross in front of the near post.
In fact, it was Conor Gallagher who blocked Raphinha's shot, otherwise he might have beaten the diving Oblak.
5 minutes Barcelona kept putting intense pressure on Atletico from the beginning. Raphinha's shot from 15 yards hit two Atletico defenders and was cleared. The second block may have saved the goal. It is unclear who the defender was.
3 minutes Barcelona got off to a really fast start. Balde fired a dangerous cross towards Raphinha at the far post, but the ball was slightly behind Balde and he could only keep the ball away from goal.
2 minutes Barcelona has Rafinha on the right flank, Gabi plays on the left flank, and Fermin López is positioned behind Lewandowski.
1 minute Beep beep! A big game is underway. By the way, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has been suspended. He's in the stands, but he can't go into the dressing room. Check your laundry basket.
It's almost time for kickoffNow let's remember about the team. I mentioned Barcelona with Rafinha on the right, but it is also possible that they have Fermin López on the right, Gabi in the center, and Rafinha on the left.
Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1) Pena; Kunde, Kvarsi, Martinez, Balde. Casado, Pedri. Rafinha, Fermín López, Gabi. Lewandowski.
Replacements: Araujo, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Pablo Torre, Pau Victor, F. de Jong, Szczesny, Astralaga, Eric, Gerard Martín, Sergi Dominguez.
Atlético Madrid (possible 4-4-2) Oblak; Llorente, Jimenez, Lenglet, Galan. Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher. Griezmann, Alvarez.
Subs: Azpilicueta, Correa, Koke, Lemar, Le Normand, Lino, Mandaba, Molina, Musso, Riquelme, Sorloth, Witsel.
It's tight at the top
The final game of the Premier League ended with Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal. Let Scott Murray react.
Team News: Yamal out with injury
Hansi Flick made three changes to the team that lost at home to Leganes. Pau Kubalsi, gabi and fermin lopez He replaces Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo and the injured Lamine Yamal.
Atleti made one change from last weekend's game against Getafe. conor gallagher returned, but Samuel Reno left.
Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1) Pena; Kunde, Kvarsi, Martinez, Balde. Casado, Pedri. Rafinha, Lopez, Gabi. Lewandowski.
Replacements: Araujo, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Pablo Torre, Pau Victor, F. de Jong, Szczesny, Astralaga, Eric, Gerard Martín, Sergi Dominguez.
Atlético Madrid (possible 4-4-2) Oblak; Llorente, Jimenez, Lenglet, Galan. Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher. Griezmann, Alvarez.
Subs: Azpilicueta, Correa, Koke, Lemar, Le Normand, Lino, Mandaba, Molina, Musso, Riquelme, Sorloth, Witsel.
preamble
Hello. Welcome to the biggest match of the weekend, live coverage of Barcelona vs. Atlético Madrid at the Estadio Olympique Lluis. In La Liga, it's 1st vs. 2nd place, and Real Madrid are breathing on both sides, increasing the intensity. Nothing can match Atleti's form. They have won 11 games in a row in all competitions, including a stunning comeback from 3-1 down against Sevilla two weeks ago.
Barcelona went in the opposite direction. After scoring in October, they had a very poor run with just five points from six league games, including defeats at home against Las Palmas and Leganes. Maybe a game of this magnitude is just what they need to get them back on track. Both teams know that if they win tonight they will be at the top until 2025.
kick off 8pm GMT, 9pm CET.
