Barca set for intimidating reception at Atletico

‘It’s a difficult situation and those in charge need to resolve it... No-one can be comfortable with this situation’Barcelona’s 100 percent start to the Liga season will be severely tested at Atletico Madrid tomorrow in an atmosphere certain to be intensified by political fervour.It will be the first time Barca have visited the capital since a disputed referendum on independence in Catalonia which has stoked tensions with the Spanish government. As the Catalan region’s most famous export, Ernesto Valverde’s Barca side can expect an even more intimidating welcome from the Atletico fans than usual.Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta said he had been affected by the uneasy atmosphere in the country and has called for a political solution.“No-one likes that we’ve reached a situation whereby people are at each other’s throats because they carry different flags,” he said in an interview with Catalunya Radio.“It’s a difficult situation and those in charge need to resolve it... No-one can be comfortable with this situation, you can’t ignore what’s been going on.”The political tension has capped a difficult start to the campaign for Barca off the pitch.Barca’s board, heavily criticised for their lack of transfer activity in the close-season after selling Brazil striker Neymar, faced a campaign to force a motion of no confidence in them, which ultimately failed.They have also suffered with injuries and lost record signing Ousmane Dembele to injury for four months and had to make do without striker Luis Suarez at the start of the campaign.On the pitch, however, things could not have gone better as the Liga leaders sit five points ahead of nearest challengers Sevilla following seven consecutive wins. They will face their toughest opponents since the season began in Atletico, who are fourth in the standings, six points off Barca but also unbeaten.Barca forwards Suarez and Lionel Messi could be feeling the strain of long journeys back from South America after firing Uruguay and Argentina respectively to the 2018 World Cup.Messi scored a hat-trick on Tuesday to help Argentina qualify for the World Cup with a 3-1 win over Ecuador and the Catalans will look to their playmaker to maintain or extend their five-point advantage at the top of the table.Messi has scored more goals against Atletico than any other opponent with the exception of Sevilla, netting 27 times in 34 encounters against the Rojiblancos. However Atletico defender Juanfran believes his side, currently fourth, need to work hard to shackle not only Messi but his team-mates too.“Barcelona have a great team and great players,” said Juanfran. “Messi makes the difference, (Andres) Iniesta has found his game again, (Sergio) Busquets and Jordi Alba are very good. “To win we have to give our all to counteract all the quality they have. They key is not to let them get comfortable.“Even then they can still do you damage. Barcelona is not just Messi, we have to be on top of everyone.”Iniesta is racing against the clock as he battles a hamstring problem, while Barcelona will be without long-term absentees Rafinha Alcantara and Ousmane Dembele. “In these two days we will see how everything is,” said Iniesta, who missed Spain’s final World Cup qualifiers. “I’m confident in being fit and able to be part of the squad.”Atletico have a clean bill of health besides a muscle problem for Sime Vrsaljko which will likely rule him out.Diego Simeone’s men beat both Malaga and Sevilla in La Liga at their new ground but suffered Champions League defeat by Chelsea at home, and are looking to earn their first huge victory at the Metropolitano.Earlier tomorrow injury-hit Real Madrid travel south to face city rivals Getafe. Zinedine Zidane’s side will be without Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovacic, Dani Carvajal and goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who suffered an adductor problem while with Costa Rica during the international break.Madrid, fifth, have endured a shaky start to the league season, while Getafe are sitting comfortably in seventh place.The Madrid minnows have absences too, with Dani Pacheco, Gaku Shibasaki and Jefferson Montero out of action, but are hoping to score an unlikely result against the champions.“I think they’re a complete side, but we are playing at home and we will give everything on the pitch to take something positive,” Getafe defender Vitorino Antunes said.“They’re the best team in the world, they have few weaknesses. We’ll try to play our own game, it has to be complete. I’m not going to say what their weaknesses are, because then they’ll work on them.”Meanwhile second placed Sevilla face a tricky test at Athletic Bilbao tomorrow, while Valencia, third, play Real Betis in Andalusia on Sunday.The weekend’s other fixtures are Espanyol v Levante, Alaves v Real Sociedad, Eibar v Deportivo La Coruna, Girona v Villarreal, Malaga v Leganes and Las Palmas v Celta Vigo.