Published on: May 8, 2021 5:34 pm IST|Updated on: May 8, 2021 5:35 pm IST
BAR vs ATL Dream11: Barcelona welcomes Atletico Madrid to the Camp Nou for a blockbuster La Liga fixture. The Spanish league can be decided based on this game as only 2 points separate the two sides. Barcelona failed to capitalise on Atletico Madrid’s patchy form but now they have another opportunity to lead the table. Diego Simeone’s men were spared by Elche as they missed a last-minute penalty to hand all 3 points to the Los Rojiblancos. But any sign of weakness against a side like Barcelona will not go unpunished.
Date: 8 May, Saturday Kick-Off: 7:45 PM (IST) Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
La Liga Table: Atletico Madrid is 1st in the league with Barcelona in 3rd place.
WATCH Premier League Live Stream and Match Score on Star Sports Select in India
Recent Form Barcelona: WWWLW Atletico Madrid: DWWLW
Head to Head (last 5 meetings): There is little to separate the 2 sides as both have won 2 and played out 1 draw.
Barcelona News
Injury Report and Unavailability:
• No new injury concerns for Barcelona as Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho and Martin Braithwaite miss out.
Expected Changes and Strategy:
• An unchanged lineup for Barcelona is on the cards as Lenglet, Pique and Araujo start in defence. • Busquets will partner Pedri and de Jong in central midfield as Jordi Alba and Dest occupy the flanks. • Griezmann prepares to meet his old club as he partners Messi in the attack.
Barcelona Starting XI (likely)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen(GK) Ronald Araujo Gerard Pique Clement Lenglet Sergino Dest Frenkie de Jong Sergio Busquets Pedri Jordi Alba Lionel Messi Antoine Griezmann
Atletico Madrid News
• Renan Lodi is the only absentee that Simeone will be without.
• Atletico are likely to mirror Barcelona’s 3-5-2 with Savic, Hermoso and Gimenez in defence. • Carrasco and Trippier should start on the wings with Kondogbia, Lemar and Koke in midfield. • Suarez too will look to meet his former club as he lines up alongside Llorente in the attack.
Atletico Madrid Starting XI (likely)
Jan Oblak (GK) Stefan Savic Jose Gimenez Mario Hermoso Kieran Trippier Thomas Lemar Koke Geoffrey Kondogbia Yannick Carrasco Marcos Llorente Luis Suarez
Fantasy Football Tips
Captain Options
Lionel Messi – Messi has been excellent as usual with 28 goals and 9 assists in the league. He has created 78 chances, attempted 86 shots on target and completed 136 successful dribbles at a 62% completion rate. Messi also picked up the man of the match in his last 2 games for the club, scoring 3 goals.
Luis Suarez – Luis Suarez will look to prove his former employers wrong and prove a point against them. He has scored 19 goals and provided 2 assists in the league this season. He has created 27 chances, attempted 35 shots on target and is the main reason as to why Atleti have been so good this season.
Differential Pick
Marcos Llorente – On a pitch that contains the likes of Messi, Suarez and Griezmann, it is likely to overlook the likes of Llorente. However, the Spanish international will be no pushover. He has scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists in La Liga this season, creating 47 chances, attempted 31 dribbles and maintaining a pass accuracy of 84%. Llorente has 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 games including the winning goal against Elche.
Goalkeeper – Oblak Defenders – Pique, Dest, Gimenez Midfielders – Koke, Kondogbia, Llorente, Pedri Forwards – Messi (C), Griezmann, Suarez (VC)
Likely Winner:
Games don’t get bigger than this and there is a lot at stake. Atletico could really have one hand on the title should they grab the win but they face very formidable opponents. Barcelona has been quite shaky in general but Messi and Griezmann’s partnership has been flourishing well. La Blaugrana could finally go top of the table with a win but they face the best defence in the league. Such are the standings that even a draw in the BAR vs ATL Today Match Prediction will be unsatisfactory for both teams as Real Madrid lurk in the shadows.