ZCZC
BSP-06
FBL-ESP-LIGA,PREVIEW
Atletico look to leapfrog Barcelona in wide open La Liga
MADRID, Nov 23, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Atletico Madrid have a chance to take
advantage of a topsy-turvy La Liga campaign when they host champions
Barcelona on Saturday with the chance to take top spot this weekend despite
their own patchy form.
Diego Simeone’s side are just a point behind leaders Barca despite having
drawn five times and lost once, together as many matches as they have won.
They are battling to overtake Barca alongside Sevilla and surprise package
Alaves, who are both level on 23 points with Atleti.
Alaves, promoted in 2016, finished 14th last term but will go top if they
win away at Leganes on Friday night, while Sevilla could potentially be
leaders on Sunday night despite languishing in 13th place in September.
Even Real Madrid are in touch, just four points back despite having gone
more than eight hours without a goal at one point and having been without a
permanent coach for two weeks before Santiago Solari was upgraded from
interim to full-time boss.
This season every time a challenger has clicked into gear they seem to
click out again, in turn offering fresh impetus to their stumbling rivals
around them.
Barca were verging on crisis in September before reeling off six wins and a
draw away at Valencia. Then they were blown away by Real Betis, flattered
even by the 4-3 scoreline.
“We have managed to play the way we want against the big teams, but against
other teams with less potential we have not,” defender Gerard Pique said.
“If we want to win titles we have to be strong against everyone, the
difficult ones and everyone else.”
– Real transformation –
Atletico may have put a miserable start behind them but last month, they
suffered their heaviest defeat under Diego Simeone, a 4-0 loss to Borussia
Dortmund. Before the international break, they needed two goals in the last
10 minutes to beat Athletic Bilbao.
The last time Atleti prevailed over Barca in the league was 2010, when they
had Spain keeper David de Gea in goal and Argentina striker Sergio Aguero up
front.
Lionel Messi proved the difference in March with a bending free-kick, and
in the summer too for Antoine Griezmann, who decided he would be better off
in the lead role he holds with Atletico rather than playing second fiddle at
Barca.
Griezmann has not shied away from his craving to clinch the Ballon d’Or
this year but despite winning the World Cup and Europa League, the sense is
he will come up short, as he is not consistently dominating these kind of
fixtures in the way players like Messi do.
There will be a battle of old against new in midfield, where Sergio
Busquets, 30, goes up against Rodri Hernandez, eight years his junior.
Rodri is still rough around the edges but has poise, judgement and the
ability to set the tempo. Busquets has done that job at the highest level
over the past decade but he has been among those most at fault in Barca’s
worst performances this season.
Any result at the Wanda Metropolitano will benefit sixth-placed Real
Madrid, whose first game with Santiago Solari as their permanent coach comes
at Eibar early Saturday afternoon.
Four wins, 15 goals scored and only two conceded point to nothing less than
a transformation, which gave Madrid president Florentino Perez an easy
solution to fill the vacancy left open by the sacking of Julen Lopetegui.
Solari has a kind run of fixtures until Christmas, broken only by a league
clash against Valencia and Roma in the Champions League next week, which
gives his side the chance to re-emerge as serious challengers to Barca’s
crown.
Fixtures (all times GMT)
Friday
Leganes v Alaves (2000)
Saturday Eibar v Real Madrid (1200), Valencia v Rayo Vallecano (1515),
Huesca v Levante (1730), Atletico Madrid v Barcelona (1945)
Sunday
Athletic Bilbao v Getafe (1100), Sevilla v Real Valladolid (1515), Espanyol
v Girona (1730), Villarreal v Real Betis (1945)
Monday
Real Sociedad v Celta Vigo (2000)
BSS/AFP/MRI/0840 hrs