Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will be looking to boost their respective title aspirations when they face off in Tuesday's La Liga clash at Camp Nou.
The hosts are leading the way at the top of the table, while Diego Simeone's side are three points adrift in fourth position.
Match preview
Barcelona may be struggling to **replicate their high performance levels**of last season, but they have still done enough to be sitting in pole position after 14 La Liga matches.
Hansi Flick's charges have recorded 11 league victories this term (D1, L2), including wins in each of their last four top-flight matches since losing to Real Madrid in El Clasico at the end of October.
They dispatched Elche, Celta Vigo and Athletic Bilbao, before they bounced back from their Champions League defeat to Chelsea**with a 3-1 victory** in Saturday's home outing against Deportivo Alaves.
The Catalan giants conceded within 43 seconds of kickoff - their earliest goal conceded in La Liga in two years - before they hit back through star winger Lamine Yamal.
Dani Olmo went on to net a brace to seal a 3-1 victory and extend Barcelona's unbeaten run against Alaves to 16 La Liga matches (W14, D2), sending them above rivals Real Madrid, who subsequently dropped two points in Sunday's draw with Girona.
With Real Madrid set to face Athletic on Wednesday, Barcelona will have the chance to move four points clear in Tuesday's clash against Atletico, with the hosts looking to record a seventh victory in eight head-to-head league meetings.
Having racked up 39 La Liga goals this season, the top-flight's highest scorers will surely feel that have the required firepower to breach an Atletico side that have the joint-best defensive record in the division.
© Imago / DeFodi Images
Atletico looked unlikely to be in the title picture when they stumbled out of the starting blocks with three wins, four draws and one defeat in their opening eight league games.
However, they have since taken maximum points from each of their last six matches to outline their ambition of being a serious contender in the title race.
In fact, Atleti have won each of their last seven competitive matches since losing 4-0 to Arsenal in the Champions League on October 21.
Last Wednesday, Simeone's troops left it late to snatch a 2-1 win in their Champions League home meeting with Inter Milan, before they returned to La Liga action with a 2-0 success against Real Oviedo at the Metropolitano, thanks to Alexander Sorloth's first-half brace.
The win over the Asturian side moved Simeone level with Real Madrid legend Miguel Munoz in second place in the all-time list of managers with the most wins in La Liga history (323).
Simeone will be targeting his 324th top-flight win as Atletico boss in Tuesday's tricky test against Barcelona - a game that has been brought forward from January due to the Spanish Super Cup.
The visitors are looking to record a second consecutive away league win over Barcelona in La Liga after Sorloth netted a 96th-minute winner in their most recent visit in La Liga in December 2024.
Barcelona La Liga form:
W L W W W W
Barcelona form (all competitions):
W D W W L W
Atletico Madrid La Liga form:
W W W W W W
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
W W W W W W
Team News
© Imago / IMAGO / Ricardo Larreina Amador
Barcelona remain without goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and midfielder Gavi, while Fermin Lopez will miss a second consecutive game due to a calf issue.
Ronald Araujo sat out the win over Alaves through illness, and he is unlikely to recover in time for the midweek outing against Atletico.
Eric Garcia is expected to be available despite being forced off at half time on Saturday, while Frenkie de Jong is set to return to the fold after missing the Alaves clash due to personal reasons.
The Netherlands international is likely to come into the team, along with Jules Kounde and Pedri.
Meanwhile, Atletico will travel to Barcelona without the services of Marcos Llorente, who will miss a third consecutive match with a thigh injury.
Defender Robin Le Normand is unlikely to be ready for the important league game, as he continues to recover from a knee injury he sustained in the Champions League win over Union Saint-Gilloise at the start of November.
After making changes at the weekend, Simeone could recall Jose Maria Gimenez, Matteo Ruggeri, Pablo Barrios, Johnny Cardoso and Giuliano Simeone.
Koke is also set to come into the Atleti midfield, while Julian Alvarez is expected to get the nod over Sorloth despite the Norwegian getting a brace on Saturday.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Garcia; Kounde, Garcia, Cubarsi, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Gimenez, Hancko, Ruggeri; Cardoso; Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Baena; Alvarez
We say: Barcelona 2-2 Atletico Madrid
As the hosts, Barcelona will be desperate to make home advantage count in Tuesday's intriguing encounter, but Atletico will be in a confident mood following their recent run of form, and we think they will do enough to take a point from a difficult away assignment.
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