Overview
Barcelona are still leading La Liga this season with 38 points. However, coach Hansi Flick's team has seen a serious decline in form compared to the beginning of the season.
In the last 6 matches in La Liga, Blaugrana only had 1 victory against Mallorca, but received 3 defeats and 2 draws. These poor results have caused the Catalan team to gradually be followed closely by Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the rankings.
Therefore, Barcelona's mandatory task in the direct confrontation with Atletico Madrid will be 3 points. They need a victory to boost the team's spirit, besides preventing their opponent from taking the top spot.
However, overcoming Atletico's defense that has only conceded 11 goals will not be an easy task for Barcelona, even though they have scored 50 goals in La Liga this season. Remember, Barca will likely be without Lamine Yamal in this match due to injury.
As for Atletico Madrid, they are not playing in a flashy and spectacular way, but they are making steady progress in the rankings. Since losing to Real Betis at the end of October, Atletico Madrid have had a series of 5 consecutive wins in La Liga. In all competitions, they also have a perfect record in the Spanish King's Cup and the Champions League.
Notably, Atletico Madrid have not known the taste of victory at Barcelona's home ground since 2006. This is also the basis to believe that Barcelona can completely stop Atletico Madrid's winning streak, even when they are facing a crisis in form.
In his coaching career, coach Diego Simeone has never won at Barca's home ground.
Human resources situation
As mentioned, Yamal will be out of action until the new year 2025 due to an ankle injury.
On the other side of the front line, Alexander Sorloth, the player who scored Atletico's decisive goal against Getafe last week, will be out with a muscle problem.
Expected lineup:
Barcelona: Pena, Kounde, Garcia, Martinez, Balde, Casado, Pedri, Raphinha, Olmo, Torres, Lewandowski.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan, Lino, Barrios, De Paul, Gallagher, Alvarez, Griezmann.
The match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid takes place at 3:00 a.m. on December 22 (Vietnam time).
