Diego Pablo Simeone attended the media this afternoon in Majadahonda to analyze tomorrow's clash against FC Barcelona in Montjuïc. The rojiblancos face this challenge after achieving victory against Valencia last Saturday and remaining in the fight for the LaLiga leadership. It won't be the first time the colchonero team visits Montjuïc, as they faced each other for the first time last December.
On that occasion, despite the superiority of Hansi Flick's side, the balance would end up tipping in favor of the visitors after a goal by Alexander Sorloth. Koke continues to recover from his muscle injury, but there is also a negative news for the blaugrana team in the form of doubt. A key piece hasn't been able to train today and could miss one of the most important matches of this year for the blaugrana club.
Serious Doubt for FC Barcelona
Atlético de Madrid visits Montjuïc again tomorrow to play the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals against one of the most in-form teams at the moment. Simeone, taking advantage of the pre-match press conference, took the opportunity to once again praise his rival's play and analyze different important aspects for the commitment. He showed his confidence in Pablo Barrios after the expulsion against Celta de Vigo and confirmed that the starting goalkeeper will again be Juan Musso, a regular in this competition.
Another topic the Argentine coach was asked about is Lamine Yamal, who hasn't trained this morning after suffering a blow in the last match. Although from Catalonia they point out that the Spanish international doesn't want to miss this clash, the reality is that he already had to be absent in the league commitment. On that occasion, the rojiblancos managed to come back from Pedri's initial goal and take the three points in the last match of 2024.
The Doubts Simeone Handles
Considering the short rest time, the last training session of Atlético de Madrid has been divided into two groups, one of them being the theoretical starters. There would be two doubts in the colchonero team's line-up, both on the left flank, positions that don't have a fixed owner. Samuel Lino has been growing in recent weeks, but Conor Gallagher was already able to start in the match played in Barcelona in December.
Against Valencia, the starter in defense was César Azpilicueta, but everything points to Javi Galán possibly regaining his spot in tomorrow's clash against Barça. The other option would be Reinildo, who has performed excellently when facing very demanding teams like Bayer Leverkusen. These are the main uncertainties handled at the Metropolitano, as the rest of the starters are expected to be the usual ones from recent matches.