Hansi Flick’s new-look Barcelona defence faces a major test against Atletico Madrid

Hansi Flick’s new-look Barcelona defence faces a major test against Atletico Madrid Barcelona are all set to lock horns with rivals Atletico Madrid on Matchday 12 of the 2026/27 La Liga on Sunday night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. It is a crucial match in the context of the league title race, considering that Atletico Madrid are only two points below leaders Barcelona and can displace them at the top of the table with a win. As such, Barça know they cannot slip up tomorrow at the Metropolitano, while also hoping to exact revenge on the Rojiblancos for last season’s Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League heartbreak. All eyes on the Barcelona defence As Barcelona get set to face off against Diego Simeone & co., all eyes will be on the new-look defensive line that Hansi Flick is set to field. Indeed, according to AS , the Barça head coach appears set to repeat the back four comprising Brian Farinas, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, and Joao Cancelo against the Rojiblancos , which will be in for a stern test tomorrow. Injuries to key defensive personnel has forced the German tactician to field an experimental defensive line in the last two games against Alaves and Aston Villa. Farinas has started at right-back in the last two games. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Farinas, a central midfielder by trade, has started both games at right-back, while Joao Cancelo has played at left-back. Meanwhile, Pau Cubarsi has been partnered by Frenkie de Jong in one game and Martin in another. Jules Kounde remains unavailable for the trip to Madrid, and even though Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen have recovered , they are unlikely to start, leaving Flick to trust his stitched-together backline again. A trial by fire And the makeshift Barcelona defence will be in for a trial by fire against an Atletico Madrid attack that knows how to exploit space behind the opposition defence. With Flick unlikely to change his approach, Barcelona will look to maintain a high defensive line, press aggressively and keep the team positioned in the opposition half. Simeone’s Atletico can hurt Barcelona. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) But Atletico exploited this brilliantly last season and punished the Blaugrana both in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Los Colchoneros have scored 22 goals in La Liga this season, considerably fewer than Barcelona (46). However, Simeone has several attacking players capable of causing serious problems. Alex Baena, Giuliano Simeone and Ademola Lookman are options out wide, while Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Jonathan David offer different threats through the centre. Beyond that, Atletico Madrid also have attacking full-backs capable of pushing forward, such Marcos Llorente and Alejandro Grimaldo.