Barcelona-Atletico Madrid is always one of the biggest matches in Spanish football, but this season, there is an added storyline, that being Joao Felix, who swapped Madrid for Catalonia during the summer.
Felix burned his bridges somewhat when he joined Barcelona on a season-long loan, as he pushed through the move during the summer. He has furtherly risked the wrath of Atletico Madrid in the build-up to Sunday’s match after taking aim at Diego Simeone for his supposed “defensive tactics”.
Simeone was asked about Felix during his pre-match press conference (via Diario AS), but he refused to add any further fuel to the fire.
“I don’t talk about the guys who aren’t on my team.”
Simeone did talk about Barcelona as a collective, and discussed the Catalans’ current situation.
“I expect a nice game. They have very good players, with very clear ideas as a result of the team they have. We have to take the game where we can hurt them.
“They are happy, content and looking forward to tomorrow’s game, which is very important for them. We will follow the line we’re taking.”
It should be an enthralling affair in Barcelona, and with the Felix situation, there promises to be plenty of animosity between the two sets of players.