La Liga Preview 2021-22: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona, H2H, Line-ups, Prediction

Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid
Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid - IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

The biggest clash of game week 8 of the 2021/22 La Liga season sees struggling Barcelona face defending champions Atletico Madrid in what promises to be an intriguing battle.

Venue: Wanda Metropolitano 

Key Statistics

Atletico Madrid are winless in their last three home games (D3).

They have lost just one of their last 17 La Liga matches at home (W12, D4).

Barcelona have won just one of their last five games in all competitions.

They have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight competitive matches.

Head to head

Barcelona have an outstanding record in this fixture, having won 27 out of the last 54 games they have played against Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have managed just ten wins in that period.

Latest Performances in all competitions

Atletico Madrid: W-L-W-D-D

Barcelona: L-W-D-D-L

Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone’s Atletico side have begun their title defence with a whimper and are sitting in fourth place after seven games (W4, D2, L1).

They welcome their rivals fresh from a battling 2-1 win over AC Milan in the Champions League. Late goals from Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez gave the hosts a win at Milan and ensured that they avoided a second straight loss in all competitions.

Their attention is now turned to the league, where they have won just two of their last five games. 

Diego Simeone’s side are three points behind Real Madrid in the standings and will hope to take all three points in this tie to close that gap.

A loss here will see them drop below their visitors in the league standings. But they will be confident going into this tie as they have not lost in their last 11 competitive games at home (W7, D4).

Also, they are unbeaten in four head-to-heads against Barcelona (W2, D2) and will fancy their chances of extending that unbeaten run.

Thomas Lemar remains the only injury doubt for Simeone who has a full-strength squad to select from.

Possible Atletico Madrid starting line-ups

Jan Oblak; Jose Gimenez, Felipe, Mario Hermoso; Kieran Trippier, Yannick Carrasco, Koke, Rodrigo De Paul, Marcos Llorente; Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez.

Barcelona

Troubled club Barcelona return to La Liga action on the back of an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Benfica in the Champions League.

The ‘Blaugrana’ have started this season poorly and are sitting in 7th place in La Liga heading into the eight round of games. They are five points behind leaders Real Madrid and could drop further down if they fail to win this game.

Head coach Ronald Koeman will be under pressure to win this game following talks that he will be sacked if he fails to win. 

But his poor managerial record against Atlético (W1, D1, L3) does not inspire much confidence as he heads into this game.

However, they have a good away record in the league, having lost just two of their last 17 league away games (W12, D3).

Meanwhile, Koeman has a lot of injuries to contend with as Sergio Aguero, Ousmane Dembele, Jordi Alba, Pedri, Sergio Aguero, Martin and Braithwaite are injured and have been ruled out of this fixture. 

Sergi Roberto and Alejandro Balde are also carrying knocks and might not feature in this game.

Ansu Fati scored from the bench against Levante but might be unable to begin this game.

https://twitter.com/FCBarcelona/status/1443521997154230275?s=19

Possible Barcelona starting line-ups

Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique, Sergino Dest, Oscar Mingueza; Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi; Memphis Depay, Philippe Coutinho, Luuk de Jong.

Prediction

Both teams have been struggling in recent times and have a point to prove in this game.

Koeman has his neck to save while Atletico will look to pile more misery on their rivals and also keep pace with leaders Real Madrid.

It promises to be an intriguing battle between two big teams, But overall, the hosts have the experience and quality to win this game.