Agencies
Barcelona, Sept 20: Atletico Madrid will try to secure their first win at the Nou Camp since 2006 when they face Barcelona here Wednesday in a heavyweight clash between La Liga title contenders.
Real Madrid, who are chasing history in their home game against Villarreal the same day, head the standings by three points from Barca after four rounds of matches.
Atletico have enjoyed success against Barcelona at home and especially in the Champions League, knocking them out in the 2013-14 quarterfinals and again last season. But at the Camp Nou, hosts Barca have always had the edge winning five out of the eight games while the other three have ended in draws.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico beat Celta Vigo 4-0 before Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of Sporting Gijon in which Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres and Kevin Gameiro combined for all the goals. But they know that they have a tough job on their hands when they face Barca.
“This is the path to follow,” Atletico defender Diego Godin told his club’s website Tuesday. “Now we face a great rival. They are an extremely difficult team to play against especially when they play at home. We know the quality that Barca has and they’ve proved it for many years.”
Key Atletico forward striker Torres, however, is of the opinion that the winning momentum will help his team.
“Probably, Barca are the toughest team in La Liga,” stated Torres who scored twice in the game Gijon. “But this is the right time for us to play them. We are winning, our confidence is high and we are in the race for the title,” he added.
Meanwhile Real Madrid have won 16 successive league matches, equalling the record of consecutive La Liga victories set by Barcelona in the 2010-11 season. Forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale missed the 2-0 win at Espanyol but both are expected to play Wednesday.
“We just have to continue picking up points and doing our job,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane told reporters. “And with Ronaldo and Bale returning, we are hoping to win again.”
Atletico scored 10 times and kept three clean sheets in seeing off Celta Vigo, PSV Eindhoven and Sporting in eight days.
However, they already trail city rivals Real by four points after disappointing draws against Alaves and Leganes to open the campaign. “We just needed to find the goals because we have been consistent in the way we have played despite the two draws in the first two games,” asserted Torres.