Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are facing a crossroads for their season this week, as both go into the Champions League Round of 16 second legs, knowing that defeat could send morale spiraling for the remainder of the season. In both cases, it means missing out on season objectives, but also a huge financial boost of around €10m. Even for those who know how to bet on sports, predicting which ones will end up in the quarter-finals, will be no easy feat.
Atletico Madrid won’t have things easy. Their 1-0 defeat was deemed kind in Italy, and beating Simone Inzaghi’s Inter is a tough task. But Los Rojiblancos will be forced to come out and set the tone, while remaining responsible at the back. They did find holes in the Inter backline, which they duly didn’t punish, but there were far more in their own. Diego Simeone must work out how to stem the service from the Inter midfield in order to allow them to do more attacking.
The one major advantage is that this tie is taking place at the Metrpolitano. Their record away from home continued to cause severe doubts between the two legs, as conceding seven goals in those three matches, and picking up a lonely draw against Almeria. It’s now just two wins in 11 away from home, one of which against Lugo, the other against 19th-placed Granada.
Antoine Griezmann is projected to return for the big clash, and that will give Simeone’s side a huge boost in terms of morale and quality. The Frenchman is the orchestrator of their attack, and failing to score in four of their last five away games has been symptomatic of his absence too.
On the other hand Barcelona were frustrated they did not take more from their first clash with Napoli. A 1-1 draw saw both number nines, Robert Lewandowski and Victor Osimhen, convert on the big occasions. Barcelona found enough space in the final third to create more clear-cut chances than they did, but once again couldn’t impose themselves during Napoli’s response.
There was plenty to encourage Xavi about their prospects, but Napoli manager Francesco Calzona will also have three weeks to get a response from a struggling side, which he only took over 48 hours before the match. Since, Napoli have thumped Sassuolo and beaten Juventus, while warming up with a 1-1 draw against Torino.
Barcelona have kept three clean sheets since, beating Getafe and Real Mallorca at home, but failure to take advantage of Real Madrid’s slip up in Valencia with a 0-0 draw against Athletic Club was a huge emotional blow, exacerbated by the loss of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong to injury. Without those two in midfield, there are serious doubts about Barcelona’s ability to control the game against Napoli.
