This Sunday at 330 p.m., Atletico Madrid will host Barcelona in a match where more then three points are at stake. Earlier in the season, Barca rocked Madrid's lesser known team with a score of 5-0. The score actually seems closer that it was.
Colombian international Radamel Falcao was silenced throughout the entire match only months after winning the Europa League with FC Porto, a tournament in which he scored 18 goals to win the honors in that particular competition.
New signing Cesc Fabregas along with Lionel Messi simply mesmerized the Atletico 11. Even with the introduction of Arda Turan in the second half, they were no match for the reigning Spanish and Champions League number one side.
Sunday at the Vicente Calderon stadium in the nations capital, Madrid, Atletico will look to continue Barca's poor road form by avenging that loss and grabbing all three points in front of their home crowd.
Last week, Barca erased Valencia's early 1-0 lead by scoring five unanswered for the 5-1 victory. The first four goals were scored by none other than Lionel Messi and the fifth and final goal by substitute Xavi Hernandez at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. The week before however, Barca lost out 3-2 at Osasuna, a team they defeated 8-0 only a year ago.
Anything could happen in any given football (soccer) game but this match will have Atletico heading into the game with motivation and possibly momentum on their side. Their home crowd could give them the push they need to defeat one of the two hottest teams in the league right now. However, Barca will want to build on their 5-1 victory from last week against the third best side in Valencia by getting a win on the road.
This time around, Falcao is in a better run of form and Arda Turan has a better feel for the Spanish game. Instead of going in with nerves, they need to step up like men and play as if their lives are on the line. This is the mighty Barcelona. They are the reigning UCL (European 1st league) champions and reigning La Liga champions for the past three years running. EVen though they sit 10 points behind Real Madrid, thyere are still 15 games left on the schedule and anything is possible. No team has ever come back from ten a ten point deficit with 15 games left to dramatically lift the title. However, if any team can do it, surely it is Barcelona. That is something Real Madrid can not let happen as they have been league title hungry for the past three years.
Find out this Sunday who will be the better side, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona.
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