The big games in La Liga will come thick and fast now, and Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano has always been a fixture marked in red on the calendar.
Aside from El Clasico, the two clashes against Diego Simeone’s side almost always provide superb entertainment and football of the highest quality.
Having Joao Felix in the side adds a little more spice too.
Raphinha is likely to have recovered from his injury by the weekend so the conundrum that Xavi will face is whether to start the Portuguese at the expense of Lamine Yamal or not.
The fact that there’s even a decision to make would suggest that the club aren’t too enamoured with the 24-year-old.
Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images
Often described as an enigma, Joao Felix’s inconsistency is what has stopped him becoming a true great.
Let’s be clear though. When Atleti paid £113m back in 2019 for the then 19-year-old – the fourth most expensive transfer in football history at the time – no one really batted an eyelid.
His performances to that point had elevated him to a status that, unfortunately, he’s been unable to replicate ever since.
Although his future transfer fee has to be part of the conversation when deciding whether to offer him a permanent contract or not, what the club should really be concentrating on is how well he’s disrupted the status quo in the team.
Does he make a difference when he plays? Is he a match winner? Can he be relied upon to give 100 percent from first minute to last?
You could answer both yes and no to all of those questions, given that when he’s ‘on it,’ there aren’t too many better natural talents on show.
The issue is whether he’s on it enough for a permanent switch to make both playing and financial sense for the club.
In both aspects, Barca aren’t in a position to get the decision wrong.
Is there an argument too that, perhaps, Xavi just isn’t the right manager to get the best out of him? There’s probably an element of truth in that, but then he did no better under a significantly superior coach in Diego Simeone, nor under Graham Potter at Chelsea, albeit the problems at the Blues were (and are) multiple.
Can Barcelona cover his absence when he’s not on the pitch? Absolutely. Is he a threat when he’s in the side? Again, yes – as Atleti themselves saw just before Christmas.
But is that enough to take up a position in the squad at someone else’s expense and at a not insignificant price point?
Decisions, decisions…