Lionel Messi and Neymar's Special Connection Should Help Barcelona Beat Atletico

Barcelona have their sights set on the first trophy of the season, and the combination of Lionel Messi and Neymar should help them lift it.

The Copa del Rey slipped out of their grasp during a terrible spell under Tata Martino last season, a few weeks when they were also knocked out of the Champions League and fell behind in the Liga title race.

Gareth Bale fizzed past the injured Marc Bartra and beat Jose Manuel Pinto to help Real Madrid win the cup final 2-1 against the Catalans, while Neymar struck a shot against the post late on.

This time, the Brazilian is better placed to ensure Barcelona succeed in the competition given both his personal improvement this season and his improved relationship with Messi.

The Messi-Neymar axis is Barcelona's main weapon. It dismantled Elche on Saturday night in Barcelona's 6-0 win and had been prominent on several occasions before that.

An article by Sport's Joaquim Piera looks at how the two players are connected by the Costa family and touches on the way Messi received Neymar at the start of his career:

Leo, who is not exactly outgoing, received his new strike partner with a certain coldness and distance. He did not see sincerity and sympathy in the Brazilian offering his friendship. In the environment of the "cold war" that Messi has been having with the Barcelona board, he saw Neymar as having arrived to move him from the throne.

The numbers involved in "Operation Neymar" published by the club when the case reached the high court did not help create a good context, because it had shown that the club had not been entirely honest when improving Messi's contract (before the last renewal). Last season, Neymar, when you include the agreements with his father's companies, earned more than Leo.

But the situation was cooled by Pepe Costa, Messi's right-hand man, and Alvaro Costa, Pepe's son, who is close to Neymar.

Now, Messi understands that Neymar isn't here to kick him aside and is, instead, the perfect companion in Barcelona's attack.

With Luis Suarez faltering, Barcelona have turned to Messi and Neymar on several occasions this season, and they have provided.

It might take Suarez a similar length of time to adjust to La Liga as Neymar took, although you would hope not, as the Premier League is at a far more advanced level than the Brazilian top flight.

Barcelona lead Diego Simeone's Spanish champions 1-0 from the first leg, when Messi converted the rebound after seeing his spot-kick initially saved.

That means his team will be forced to go on the offensive in the second leg at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night.

If they don't come flying out of the blocks, it would be no surprise, but at some point, Simeone is going to need to up the ante on Barcelona.

And that's exactly when Messi and Neymar can combine, lightning quick, on the break.

Messi isn't known for being the quickest player on the pitch, but when he's motivated, he can flash away from defenders in his sleep.

Neymar is fast, increasingly strong and almost the perfect counter-attacking player. He and Messi ran Atletico ragged in Barcelona's 3-1 win in the league recently.

That game was fast and furious and a real thriller, especially when compared to the first Copa clash between these sides.

Fortunately for spectators, this game should be more like the former than the latter due to Atletico's need to win and the absence of Simeone's defensive linchpin Diego Godin through suspension. 

That should be fortunate for Messi and Neymar too.