It’s safe to say that Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman is under pressure as he prepares to take his side to the capital to face Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday.
Barca suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday and currently find themselves sixth in the La Liga standings.
EL MOMENTO. 😍 pic.twitter.com/lZ0CpEMbyU— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) September 28, 2021
EL MOMENTO. 😍 pic.twitter.com/lZ0CpEMbyU
Atletico, meanwhile, picked up a 2-1 victory over AC Milan in the UCL on Tuesday. They also sit two points and two places clear of Barca in the domestic table.
Diego Simeone’s men have lost just one of their opening seven La Liga games this season, picking up four wins and two draws in the process.
Their first defeat came against Alaves last weekend, but they swiftly bound back with a victory over Milan.
Despite trailing for the majority of the game, Atletico came from behind to seal all three points at San Siro. Antoine Griezmann equalised on 84 minutes before Luis Suarez netted the winner in 90+7.
When you look at the bigger picture, Simeone's side have only lost eight of their previous 52 matches in all competitions.
They are also enjoying an 11-game unbeaten streak on home soil, meaning they will be confident of avoiding defeat against off-form Barcelona.
In fairness to Barca, they have yet to taste defeat in La Liga this season. That said, they have drawn three of their opening six matches.
Having been held by Athletic Bilbao, Granada and Cadiz this term, there is clearly room for improvement at Camp Nou.
The Catalans suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss in the Champions League in midweek, going down to Benfica in Portugal.
If Barcelona don’t turn things around pretty quickly, don’t be surprised if Ronald Koeman gets sacked before too long.
Head-to-head: Atletico Madrid are currently enjoying a four-match unbeaten streak against Barcelona, having picked up two wins and two draws in that time.
It is also worth noting that seven of the last nine meetings between these two sides have produced under 2.5 goals, meaning we should see a low-scoring game on Saturday.
Team news: Atletico have no injury problems at the moment, with Thomas Lemar returning against Milan in midweek.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have six injury absentees, with Ousmane Demeble, Sergio Aguero and Jordi Alba among them.
Given the recent low-scoring encounters between Atletico and Barcelona, we are set for a tight game on Saturday.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Atletico and Barcelona will play out a low-scoring draw, with both sides finding the net.