The last two Spanish La Liga champions will meet in what has become an epic battle on Saturday at the Vicente Calderon. It was at this very stadium earlier this year where Barcelona beat Atletico 1-0 to end the title race and get back their title from Atletico who had stripped them the season prior. This is a massive game so early into the season and the result will always play a part in these sides’ title pursuit.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico kept up their 100 percent start to the season and overcame the first big hurdle of what was the beginning of a difficult list of early season fixtures which will see them play Spain’s biggest teams – Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal – in the first 10 weeks of the campaign. They saw off the UEFA Europa League champions Sevilla 3-0 away from home in a perfect Atleti performance, showcasing their abilities at both ends of the pitch as they dominated the first half, took the lead and then defended resolutely after the break. It was only the second time that Sevilla had been beaten at home in almost 40 games and after Koke and Gabi netted goals and raised eight fingers, the third was scored by substitute Jackson Martinez, who curled in from the edge of the area. Their celebrations were in honour of Raul Garcia who donned the number eight jersey for eight seasons and has chosen a new challenge by joining Athletic Bilbao. Atletico and their opponents are among only four teams to have won both opening matches of the season, along with Celta Vigo and surprise package Eibar. Diego Simeone’s side finished some 16 points behind last Barcelona last season. There is little doubting that they had a disappointing 2014 summer, but their business this time around has been very impressive. The season following their La Liga triumph saw them lose key personnel in Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois and Filipe Luis to Chelsea as well as an inspirational David Villa. The only replacements brought in that truly matched those big outgoing names was Antoine Griezmann. This summer saw them spending €126m wisely, but also bringing in cash to total their net spending at just €5m. In defence they have a more solid backline with Filipe Luis returning to the club after a frustrating spell at Chelsea where he failed to break into the starting eleven. Miranda struggled to demonstrate his 2013-14 form last term and although the Brazilian’s departure was a sad one, the emerging Jose Gimenez, who is just 20, is more than capable of thriving alongside the exceptional Diego Godin, while the ever-impressive Juanfran completes a back four that looks as mean as it did when they won the Spanish title and reached the Champions League final. The midfield departure list would suggest that this was a disappointing area of the transfer window for Atletico. The wonderfully-gifted Arda Turan has moved on to Barcelona, while Garcia made the move to Bilbao. Two players that were key in Atletico’s excellent 2013-14 season have departed, but those that have arrived have bolstered the squad. Yannick Ferreira Carrasco is widely regarded as one of the best young talents in European football and arrives having made over 100 first-team appearances for Monaco. Aside from Antoine Griezmann, Atletico lacked pace last season and his ability on either flank will be priceless. Keeping hold of Koke was always going to be vital, with the Spaniard one of the most in-demand midfielders in Europe. Oliver Torres has returned from Porto and, on the early evidence, fits into the Atletico midfield like a glove. In attack is where Atleti really needed to strengthen, and that they did. Losing Diego Costa last year was an incredible blow and to be blunt, his replacement Mario Mandzukic did not cut it. The Croatian managed a respectable 20 goals in all competitions, but his lack of pace and indeed movement did not suit an Atletico team that relies on work-rate. If it were not for Griezmann’s 25 goals, Atletico would have struggled last season. In the league, they only managed 67 goals, which was 43 fewer than Barcelona and 51 less than Real Madrid, which is quite incredible. Raul Jimenez also struggled and although Fernando Torres returned in January, the Spaniard was never going to be a consistent scorer in the second half of the season. The signing of goal-machine Jackson Martinez, who netted 92 times in 132 games for Porto from 2012 to 2015, gives the team a dangerous look. The Colombian is already off the mark this season and his pace and power is perfect for Atletico’s style of play. Luciano Vietto has also arrived from Villarreal after hitting 20 goals in 48 games during his first season in Spanish football last term. Just 21, the Argentine’s pace and finishing 
qualities will further complement the attack. Now, Atletico have options and indeed an abundance of quality in the final third.
Barcelona
Barcelona have two wins from two games but the champions have not hit top gear yet and have somewhat looked tired in their performances. They haven’t had the easiest of schedules so early in the season. A two week pre-season tour across the Atlantic was followed with a taxing trip to Georgia for the UEFA Super Cup and after a long haul home, the Blaugrana soon headed north to Bilbao for the Spanish Super Cup. As La Liga then got underway, Luis Enrique’s team evidently wasn’t firing on all cylinders, but nonetheless managed to get across the line by picking up two 1-0 wins over Athletic Bilbao and Malaga. Then, just as they would ideally have hoped to begin to build some momentum, the international break hit and forced the players to shift focus. For the South American contingent of the squad in particular, that meant more long trips, with USA hosting friendlies contested by Lionel Messi and Javier Macherano’s Argentina, as well as Neymar and Rafinha Alcantara’s Brazil. The club coach will not have all of his first team players available to train until the middle of the week. Barca’s match against Malaga was headlined by the front line featuring Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, with the Brazilian making a return after being kept out by a mumps infection, but despite Barcelona’s star trio being reunited they needed help from Thomas Vermaelen to see off Malaga. The Catalans had to wait virtually an entire year to see him play in their final 2014/15 league game, but this season has started with a bang for the Belgian as he volleyed the 86th minute winner. Gerard Pique will still has two matches to serve his suspension after abusing the referee in their Spanish Super Cup tie with Athletic Bilbao, while Dani Alves will miss this clash as he recuperates from a groin strain suffered two weeks back.
Probable line-ups:
Atletico 4-4-2:
Oblak; Juanfran, Godin, Gimenez, Luis; Koke, Tiago, Gabi, O. Torres; Griezmann, Martinez
Barcelona 4-3-3:
Bravo; Roberto, Mascherano, Vermaelen, Alba; Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Prediction: Draw
Barcelona have beaten Atletico in the last four meetings. However, this crucial match comes at a bad time for Barca and Atletico will come out with a point to prove as Barca have beaten them in the last four meetings. Atletico also look more equipped to challenge them after revamping their squad as well as restoring the counter-attacking quality that helped them beat Barca to the league title in 2014. While both squads are full of players who feature for their national teams, Atletico might have an advantage for the simple reason that central midfielders Gabi and Tiago were not on international duty for Spain and Portugal respectively. Atletico will make it tough for Barcelona and a draw is tipped.
Wayde Dorkin
