If there is one team that Barcelona do not want to be playing at the moment then it is Atletico Madrid. However, unfortunately for Luis Enrique’s men the Blaugrana face a trip to the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Barcelona were looking unstoppable in La Liga and the Champions League until the last couple of weeks, when they have suffered La Liga defeats against Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, with a narrow 2-1 Champions League victory over Atleti sandwiched in-between.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico are renowned for their defensive nous. The team from the Spanish capital has conceded the least amount of goals in La Liga and are now just three points behind Barcelona in the top-flight.
They are the sort of team that most opposition teams loathe playing against, as they are just so well organised and compact. They do try to out-pass teams. They stick to their strengths and one of those is not conceding.
Atletico only need to score once in the second leg and then defend for their lives to make it to the semi-finals of the Champions League. There is no team better set-up to achieve that goal in Europe than Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona were missing top scorer Luis Suarez against Real Sociedad through suspension, but he should return for this fixture. The Uruguayan’s return to the team could be key to Barcelona progressing from this tie, but if anybody is going to stop Barcelona this season then it will be Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.