Madrid (Spain), Dec 10 (IANS) Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are in different moments of form as they prepare for vital UEFA Champions League ties on Wednesday night. Both need to win their games improve their position and maintain their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage.
Barcelona, currently third in the 36-team group, has to play Borussia Dortmund and Benfica away from home before entertaining Atalanta, meaning it still has a lot of work to do to assure the top-eight finish that would see it qualify directly for the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, Atletico have an easier calendar ahead of them but need to keep winning to climb from their current 15th place into the top-eight. Facing last season’s finalist Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick must be worried about his side’s recent form in La Liga, which has seen it lose two and draw two of its last five games, reports Xinhua.
Part of the reason for Barca’s problems is that a defense that looked solid at the start of the season is now starting to leak due to a packed fixture, with few options to rotate key players given the long-term injuries to Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen. Araujo is on the verge of returning to action and will travel to Germany, although he is unlikely to play on Wednesday. Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski will lead the Barca attack.
Atletico have what should be a much easier game when they entertain Slovan Bratislava, who travel after five defeats from five games in which they have conceded 18 goals and scored just four.
Atletico, meanwhile, are playing their best football of the season and goes into the game after a thrilling 4-3 league win at home to Sevilla. Diego Simeone’s side is currently just a point outside the top eight, with games against Bayer Leverkusen and RB Salzburg still to play, and a win on Wednesday would give them an excellent chance of finishing in the top eight.
Antoine Griezmann was outstanding against Sevilla and with Julian Alvarez and Rodrigo De Paul also performing well at the moment, Wednesday should be a comfortable night in the Metropolitano Stadium.
–IANS
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