La Liga: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona Go Head-To-Head With Title In Play

(MENAFN- IANS) Madrid (Spain), March 15 (IANS) Spanish giants Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona go head-to-head on Sunday night in a game that will have a huge bearing on the outcome of this season's title race. The teams will kick off the game with Barca a point ahead of Atletico in the table, but with a game in hand after Atletico lost 2-1 in Getafe last weekend, while Barca's match at home to Osasuna was postponed following the death of club doctor Carles Minarro.

A win for Barca in the Metropolitano would therefore put Barca four points clear, with the chance of making that seven if they eventually beat Osasuna, and effectively end Atletico's title hopes, reports Xinhua.

Both teams were in Champions League action in midweek, with Barca winning 3-1 at home to Benfica on Tuesday night to qualify for the quarterfinals of the competition in a game where coach Hansi Flick had the luxury of substituting key players, such as Pedri and Lamine Yamal well before the final whistle to give them a rest.

Things were very different for Atletico, who lost a heartbreaking and controversial penalty shoot-out against Real Madrid on Wednesday night, meaning that not only have Diego Simeone's players had to play an extra 30 minutes of intense football, but they also have less time to recover from the physical effort and mental disappointment.

The two sides recently played a thrilling 4-4 draw in Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal, Atletico scored two early goals in that game after catching Barca lacking concentration at the start of the game and after Barca then dominated to move 4-2 up, Atletico levelled with two late goals as their rival got tired.

The pace of players such as Giuliano Simeone, Marcos Llorente, and Julian Alvarez has made Atletico one of the few teams to give Barca problems on the break, but if Barca are fresh, Atletico's main problem will be getting the ball from them.

Atletico are also handicapped by an injury to the midfielder, Koke, while Angel Correa begins his five-match suspension after last weekend's sending-off. Rodrigo de Paul is also doubtful after ending Wednesday with a muscle problem. Barcelona meanwhile is at full strength.

The game will also be affected by Real Madrid's result in Villarreal on Saturday; a win or a draw for Madrid would take it back to the top of La Liga, which shows just how much is at stake on Sunday night.

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