Athletico Madrid and Barcelona are both performing well and have advanced to the next round of the Champions League. Athletico Madrid will have an edge over Barcelona since they are playing at home, and the fans will urge them to perform well and earn three points. I'm not sure what Barcelona's genuine problem is this season, some will argue. Is from the coach, which is why they have lost several league games, and now Xavi is doing well for them, winning matches, and hoping to obtain the opportunity to finish second in the league standings. Xavi will like to get a trophy with Barcelona before he leaves the team, and since he don't have any more hope against the league title they will focus on the Champions League since they have the chance to win the trophy, because anyone don't know who will get win the Champions League trophy this season.
Head to head in the last five meetings between these two teams, Barcelona managed to record four wins and Atletico Madrid once, it is clear that Xavi squad still deserves to be at the top. But with victory in the Champions League yesterday indicating that Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are back at their best, Diego Simeone squad is lucky to act as hosts. The match is likely to end in a draw, considering that both teams are very ambitious to assert their respective positions in the standings, automatically both teams do not want to lose points.
Xavi decision to resign as Barcelona manager is very unfortunate, because it is not certain that after he leaves Barcelona will develop for the better. It could be that Xavi is no longer able to face the demands from club officials, who demand that Xavi win trophies every season. The financial crisis has become Xavi main obstacle this season, he has very limited space to add depth to the squad. It could also be that Xavi sets high standards for himself, which if he fails to achieve them will result in him deciding to resign as head coach.