This incredible season is finally coming to an end and throughout all the twists and turns there has been three teams at the forefront, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Come the last day though, only two of those has a chance to win it and out of those two only one will reign victorious and see their team lift the trophy. The Camp Nou will see a final this season and the stakes are higher than ever, the winner takes everything, 38 weeks of hard work, determination and emotion comes down to a singular 90 minutes.
The table currently stands with Atletico Madrid on top with 89 points and Barcelona second with 86 points, a win for Barca would see them level the points but win on the head to head rule. However Atletico need just a draw or a win in order to lift their first La Liga trophy since the 1995/96 season after Radomir Antic the Serbian manager led them all the way.
Both teams seem to have lost steam coming into the closing of the season with Barcelona picking up just three wins in their last six games with two draws and one loss. Atletico are in a similar position winning four of their last six with one loss and one draw. It has been a long season for both teams, especially for Atletico after their surprisingly long run in the Champions League which see's them play the final on the 24th of May just six days after their game in Barcelona. Fatigue has certainly been a factor recently for los Colchoneros as they have had several chances to put the title race to bed this season most recently with Barcelona's slip up at Elche, the draw there meant that Atletico only needed a win against Malaga to lift the trophy but failed after drawing the game 1-1.
Diego Costa will start against Barcelona after manager Diego Simeone confirmed it earlier this week, the Spaniard was rested at the weekend, but will play a huge role on the final day. Barcelona have good news too with Neymar, Pique and Jordi Alba all being given the green light for tomorrows game, although not a hundred percent fit they can bring some stability back to a struggling Barca side. Manager Gerardo Martino said "They are not in the best condition, but they don't have to play six games, just one 90 minutes".
He also added "Teams that play like Atlético are much more uncomfortable when they have to come from behind than when they are winning. Yes, they did come from behind to beat Chelsea, in the Champions League semi-final second leg, but that hasn’t always been the case.” Judging by this quote you can expect Barcelona to come firing out of the blocks looking for an early goal, if they succeed the whole dynamic of the game will change in their favour.
The two teams have met five times this season, four ending in draws with the one win going Atletico's way when they met in the Champions League quarter finals. In the five games Barcelona have only scored two goals and Atletico have scored three, although not high scoring games they are incredibly tense which makes for it's own type of excitement.
Barcelona have sold 99,000 tickets for Saturdays big game but have allocated just 447 of them to Atletico Madrid supporters, this allows for Atletico to have as little support as possible on the pitch but for Barca players to have all the support they need. This comes after captain Xavi's statement saying "We play at home in front of our fans and we have all in our favour to win. The crowd need to get behind us due to what we are playing for".
Key Men:
Diego Costa -
The Brazilian turned Spaniard has scored 27 goals in 34 La Liga games this season and will be hoping to add to that list tomorrow. After some recent issues with his hamstring it appears he has rested and overcome the problem meaning that he will start on Saturday. Simeone said "He's well. He trained without any problems and tomorrow he'll start". This is a huge boost for Atletico as he has been their star man this season in all competitions as along with his 27 goals in 34 league games he has netted eight times in eight games in the Champions League too. They will look to get the ball to Costa as much as possible using him as a target man for when they counter. Atletico know that Barca's main weaknesses are defending set pieces and being hit on the counter due to their high line two things which the former are deadly from. Costa himself has won 36 aerial duels this season and has scored all but one of his goals from inside the area, the ultimate poacher will be looking to strike again at the Camp Nou tomorrow against an inconsistent defence.
Messi -
The little man will be looking to guide his team to victory and to his seventh La Liga title on Saturday against arguably his hardest opponent this season. The Argentinean has scored 36 goals in 37 games in La Liga and the Champions League this season but unlike his opponent Diego Costa, Messi can be the spark for Barcelona's attacks too with 10 assists to his name. This versatility will be key to a Barcelona victory on the 17th, the more they get Lionel on the ball the better chance they have of winning, but that's easier said than done. Earlier in the season Messi was slammed by the public for running just 6.8km against Atletico in a game where Pinto the goalkeeper ran 5.3km just 1.5km less. This was due to a combination of factors including, Atletico's high pressing of Messi and his injury worries at the time, but now he looks more like himself and so should make the impact he is renowned around the world for.
Possible starting XI's
Barcelona -
Atletico Madrid -
The variations for Barcelona could be that Fabregas starts as a false 9 pushing Messi out wide to the right or that Fabregas starts in midfield and Iniesta pushes up to the left wing forcing Neymar out on the right. Atletico could start Raul Garcia over David Villa due to them only needing a draw, this way with Garica they would be more secure in defence as he provides a higher work rate than Villa.
Join us LIVE on VAVEL on Saturday the 17th for the biggest game of the season, Barcelona - Atletico Madrid.