How will Barcelona line up against Atletico?

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It’s another huge weekend in La Liga

Barcelona welcome Atletico Madrid to the Camp Nou on Saturday in what is a crucial game at the top of the table in the race to be crowned Spanish champions.

The Catalan giants can go top with a win over the Rojiblancos, temporarily at least, and will know that anything other than three points is a must if they are to do the double.

Alfred Schreuder will again be on the touchline for Barca, with Ronald Koeman completing his two-match ban, and the hosts have few injury problems going into the game.

Let’s see how they might line-up:

Defense

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Koeman made changes to his defense last time out and it will be interesting to see which players get the nod against Atletico.

Oscar Mingueza could return to the starting XI after getting a rest against Valencia, although Ronald Araujo will be hoping to keep his place in the team.

Clement Lenglet also looks likely to start again, despite another mistake last time out, with Koeman seemingly keen to have a left-footer as one of his three center-backs.

The only other big question in defense appears to be who starts between Sergino Dest and Sergi Roberto. There have been whispers this week that Dest’s been bothered by a minor injury recently, but Roberto has struggled since coming back from injury.

Midfield

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It seems unlikely there will be any surprises in midfield with Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Pedri all expected to start the crunch match.

There will be plenty of focus on De Jong to drive the team forwards, while Busquets has been impressive over the last few months and could prove key.

Attack

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Koeman does have options in attack but it seems likely that Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann will continue with both players in good form.

The two attackers were both on target at Mestalla and will be charged with getting the goals needed to take Barca top of the table.

Messi’s double against Valencia took him to 28 for the season in La Liga, and he has 32 in 42 games against Atletico so far in his career.

Possible XI: Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Pique, Lenglet; Dest, De Jong, Busquets, Pedri, Alba; Messi, Griezmann.

How do you think Barcelona should line up against Atletico? Let us know your teams, thoughts, and predictions in the comments below!

Source: barcablaugranes.com