Barcelona alleviated some of the pressure on their shoulders with a victory over Porto on Tuesday, securing their passage to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in three years. However that pressure will descend again on Sunday night, as they face Atletico Madrid.
Both sides are on 31 points, but Los Rojiblancos have a game in hand on their rivals. For the Blaugrana, defeat could see them end the weekend seven points behind league leaders and arch enemy Real Madrid, with significant ground to make up if they want to retain their title.
They do at least have Frenkie de Jong back amongst their ranks, who missed two months through injury. The Dutch midfielder said Barcelona would be taking no special measures for what many are calling the form team in La Liga.
“Atleti area a great team with lots of quality, they have a big strong squad with quality players. It’s always a tough match against them, very intense, they’re a really difficult opponent.”
“But to be honest we prepare like we do for every team, and we’ll go out there to win. My best memory is probably from last season. It was great because we beat them at home and it opened up a goap of nine or twelve points, can’t remember exactly now.”
Asked if there were any players he would be on the lookout for in particular, de Jong chose too that he knew more than well.
“They have a lot of great players, I’ve played with Antoine Griezmann and with Memphis too, they both have so much quality about them.”
There will be a number of crossovers between the two sides on Sunday evening, with Joao Felix also facing his parent club for the first time. In Atletico, Barcelona are facing the second-best attack in La Liga, and the second-best defence, although as noted they have played a game less. Whichever side exits the game with three points will have put down a major statement in the course of the title race.
Watch FC Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid this Sunday 3 December, with coverage starting from 7.30pm GMT on ITV4 and Viaplay Sports 1.
