Battle of Spain will resume at the Camp Nou when FC Barcelona host Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final. This will be their fourth meeting since the start of the season. All the three previous meetings between the current leader and the defending champion of La Liga has all ended in draws. That, simply put how tough this tie is going to be for Barca, especially with the second leg at Vicente Calderon. There is no easy ties in this stage of the tournament, but Atletico Madrid presents a hell of a challenge for us. The only positive is that we don't have to do much travel, and that will help not only in the Champions League but also in the League.
Martino has selected all the available players for the home leg of the tie - Pinto, Oier, Alves, Montoya, Bartra, Pique, Mascherano, Puyol, Adriano, Alba, Busquets, Song, Xavi, Cesc, Sergi Roberto, Afellay, Iniesta, Pedro, Alexis, Messi, Neymar and Tello all made into the squad. The most interesting selection has been the presence of Puyol, who is yet to be given green signal by the medical staff. The selecting of the starting eleven could be a real hard task for Martino. With Valdes injury he is anyway forced to make a change in plans with Pinto coming in between the sticks. The defense should see the same formation and players who lined up against Real Madrid - Alves, Pique, Mascherano and Alba. The midfield selection could be tricky, but Martino could still go with the same line-up which featured against Real Madrid. That means Cesc, Xavi and Busquets in midfield and Iniesta, Messi and Neymar in front.
Even though Sanchez and Pedro had been better than Neymar in recent times, expect Martino to select Neymar ahead of him. How much that could affect our chances is yet to be seen? All the previous meetings between Atletico and Barca this season ended in draws, but tomorrow we may not have that luxury. We definitely have to win tomorrow's home leg in order to have a smooth passage to the next round. With Messi in some decent form, we can expect Barca to make the most of the situation tomorrow, especially with Barca's experience in the tournament.
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