Previews
VIE 16.05.2014
The moment is upon us. FC Barcelona and Club Atlético de Madrid, the first and second-placed sides in the division, will come face-to-face on the last day of the season to decide who wins the 2013/14 Liga BBVA title.
Both sides have stayed in the race right up until the end and now it is Barcelona who will be hoping to make the most of their home support in order to clinch the highly coveted title. "There is never a clear favourite for these kinds of games, but that's not to absolve myself of any responsibility", assured Gerardo Martino ahead of the big clash.
Diego Simeone's side will head into this encounter with the added motivation of having completed an almost perfect campaign and having the chance of to lift the Liga BBVA for the first time in almost two decades. A point will do for Atlético, who have not lost to Barcelona in any of the teams' last five encounters. Despite that fact, confidence alone will not be enough. "I imagine they will come out very strong and it will be the toughest of the last few matches we have played against them", stated Diego Simeone.
Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba and Neymar all make their way back into the squad, but Barcelona's big absentee will be Carles Puyol, who during his farewell press conference announced that he would not be on the azulgrana bench for this match. Atlético will have Diego Costa available, with the Brazilian-born Spanish striker, who has recovered in time for this meeting, looking to score his first Liga BBVA goal against Barcelona.
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