Barça and Atlético want to prolong the Arab dream
The Blaugranas arrive without Ter Stegen and the 'mattresses' without Diego Costa
BARCELONA, Jan 8 (SportsFinding) –
FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid face this Thursday (8:00 p.m.) in the second semifinal of the new Super Cup of Spain 2020, which is played in the King Abdullah Sports City of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), in a hard-pressed pulse for access to the final and not having traveled in vain to the distant Arab country.
The Blaugranas arrive at the event as champions of the last Santander League, while the 'mattresses' are invited as runners-up of it. In this season start no team is shining, and 90 minutes away from home, the pulse is very open.
While it is true that Diego Costa and Thomas Lemar will not be in Atlético de Madrid, due to injury, and that in Barcelona they will not be for the same reason neither Marc-André Ter Stegen, Arthur Melo nor Ousmane Dembélé, the clash will be high intensity, with morbidity and with a high expectation generated in the host country of this Super Cup.
At the moment, in the game of the first round of LaLiga Santander, Barça took the three points of the Metropolitan Wanda thanks to a lonely goal by Leo Messi in the 86th minute. A Barça triumph that has been recurring in the last clashes between both of them.
Atlético al Barça has not won since the return of the quarterfinals of the 2016 Champions League, and since then nine games have been played with a balance of five Barça victories and four draws. A statistic that Atlético, in Arabia, wants to break.
Diego Pablo Simeone's people want to take advantage of the invitation to fight for a title in the showcases. That Diego Costa is not there and Thomas Lemar opens the doors to a 4-4-2 with Morata and Joao Felix on end. In addition, Koke aims to be recovered, like Stefan Savic and Sime Vrsaljko, who could have options of being in the eleven or playing a minute.
In Barça, League champion and current champion of the Spanish Super Cup, the most outstanding loss is that of Marc-André Ter Stegen. The goalkeeper, hurt of the knee, no longer played in the derby against RCD Espanyol in Cornellà (2-2), where Neto had an irregular role although he picked up the pace.
Up, without Dembélé, and with Arthur as he goes down in the center of the field, there could be changes. It seems that the trident is fixed, with Antoine Griezmann playing again against Atletico next to Messi and Suarez, while Ivan Rakitic and Sergi Roberto play a spot in the core.
DATA SHEET.
– POSSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
FC BARCELONA: Net; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, De Jong; Messi, Suarez and Griezmann.
ATHLETIC OF MADRID: Oblak; Trippier, Felipe, Giménez, Vrsaljko; Correa, Saul, Herrera, Koke; Morata and Joao Felix.
– ARBITRATOR: González González (C. Cast-manchego).
–ESTADIUM: King Abdullah Sports City.
– HOUR: 20.00 / Movistar Champions League.