Messi looks to make his mark at Atletico
BARCELONA and talisman Lionel Messi head to face Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano for the first time tomorrow as they bid to extend their 100% record in La Liga.
Messi scored a hattrick on Tuesday to help Argentina qualify for the World Cup with a 3-1 win over Ecuador and the Catalans will look to their playmaker to maintain or extend their fivepoint advantage at the top of the table.
Messi has scored more goals against Atletico than any other opponent with the exception of Sevilla, netting 27 times in 34 encounters against the Rojiblancos.
However Atletico defender Juanfran believes his side, currently fourth, need to work hard to shackle not only Messi but his teammates too.
“Barcelona have a great team and great players,” said Juanfran. “Messi makes the difference, (Andres) Iniesta has found his game again, (Sergio) Busquets and Jordi Alba are very good.
“To win we have to give our all to counteract all the quality they have. They key is not to let them get comfortable.”
Iniesta is racing against the clock as he battles a hamstring problem, while Barcelona will be without long-term absentees Rafinha Alcantara and Ousmane Dembele.
“In these two days we will see how everything is,” said Iniesta, who missed Spain’s final World Cup qualifiers. “I’m confident in being fit and able to be part of the squad.”
Atletico have a clean bill of health besides a muscle problem for Sime Vrsaljko which will likely rule him out.
Diego Simeone’s men beat both Malaga and Sevilla in La Liga at their new ground but suffered Champions League defeat by Chelsea at home, and are looking to earn their first huge victory at the Metropolitano.
Real Madrid travel south to face city rivals Getafe tomorrow. Zinedine Zidane’s side will be without Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovacic, Dani Carvajal and goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who suffered an adductor problem while with Costa Rica during the international break.
Madrid, fifth, have endured a shaky start to the league season, while Getafe are sitting comfortably in seventh place.
The Madrid minnows have absences too, with Dani Pacheco, Gaku Shibasaki and Jefferson Montero out of action, but are hoping to score an unlikely result against the champions.
Meanwhile second placed Sevilla face a tricky test at Athletic Bilbao tomorrow, while Valencia, third, play Real Betis in Andalusia on Sunday.
The weekend’s other fixtures are Espanyol vs Levante, Alaves vs Real Sociedad, Eibar vs Deportivo La Coruna, Girona vs Villarreal, Malaga vs Leganes and Las Palmas vs Celta Vigo. – dpa