https://www.myjoyonline.com/barcelona-face-atleti-today-as-final-la-liga-strait-begins/-------https://www.myjoyonline.com/barcelona-face-atleti-today-as-final-la-liga-strait-begins/

Barcelona aim to stay in contention for the league title as they welcome Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side to the Camp Nou on Tuesday.

Quique Setien’s men dropped two crucial points at the Municipal de Balaidos against Celta Vigo.

Luis Suarez scored a brace on the day but goals from Fyodor Smolov and Iago Aspas saw the game end 2-2. The Blaugrana sit two points adrift of bitter rivals Real Madrid (71) with six games left to play.

View this post on Instagram

Later today, the embattled @fcbarcelona face Getafe in a match they must win to keep the heat on @realmadrid. #JoySports #JoyNews

A post shared by JoySportsGH (@joysportsgh) on

The defending champions are however 13 points above third-placed Atletico Madrid (58) who hope to secure a Champions League slot for next season. Los Rojiblancos are on the back of a 2-1 victory against Deportivo Alaves at the Wanda Metropolitano thanks to strikes from Saul Niguez and Diego Costa.

Atletico Madrid currently have four more points than fourth-placed Sevilla and lead fifth-placed Getafe by six points. The 2013/14 La Liga winners have won four of their five games since La Liga resumed.

What is the kick-off time?

The match will start at exactly 20:00 GMT.

Team news

The home team will be without injured duo Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie De Jong. Sergio Busquets will, however, be available after missing the Celta Vigo tie due to suspension.

The visitors will be without Sefan Savic and Koke due to accumulation of yellow cards. Mario Hermoso and Sime Vrsaljko are injured and will not feature in the tie.

Possible Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Vidal, Rakitic, Messi, Suarez, Griezmann

Possible Atletico XI: Oblak, Arias, Gimenez, Felipe, Lodi, Thomas, Saul, Llorente, Lemar, Joao Felix, Diego Costa

Head-to-head

In their previous La Liga encounter, Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the game at the Wanda Metropolitano. In the 2018/19 season, both teams shared the spoils in Madrid (1-1) and Barcelona took all three points at Camp Nou with a 2-0 triumph.

Diego Simeone has struggled against his upcoming opponents away from home in La Liga since taking over as Atletico Madrid coach. The Argentine and his men have conceded 14 goals and scored five in his last seven matches at the Camp Nou.

Match facts

·         Los Rojiblancos are yet to record a single victory at the Camp Nou after seven La Liga matches (2D 5L).

·         Barcelona have dropped just two points at home this season (15W 1D). Atletico have amassed 23 of the possible 48 away from home this season.

·         Atletico Madrid have the second best defense in the competition this season with 23 goals conceded, two goals more than Real Madrid. 13 of them have come away from home.

·         Barcelona have the best goal difference at home this season (36) after scoring 48 and conceding 12. Only Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have conceded less at their home turf this season (10 each).

--

For more updates on sporting news, follow #JoySports on Twitter (@JoySportsGH) and Instagram (@JoySportsGH)

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.


DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.