Barcelona travel to Atletico Madrid on Saturday in La Liga, as Hansi Flick’s side aim to take a big step towards sealing back-to-back league titles.
Barca have a four-point lead over second-place Real Madrid heading into this weekend and they still host Real in May. Real do play earlier on Saturday, at Real Mallorca, so could cut Barca’s lead atop the table to just one point, albeit momentarily.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico beat Barcelona in the Spanish Cup semifinals this season and these two face each other in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, starting with the first leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. Atleti are dangerous and even though they sit fourth in La Liga, they’ve shown they can beat anyone this season and take plenty of risks.
For live updates and highlights throughout Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
**How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona live, stream link and start time**
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**Kick off time**: 3pm ET Saturday (April 4)
**Venue**: Riyadh Air Metropolitano — Madrid
**TV Channel**/**Streaming**: ESPN+, ESPN Deportes
**Atletico Madrid team news, focus**
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Alexander Sorloth needed stitches to a head injury while on international duty with Norway and will be assessed. USMNT midfielder Johnny Cardoso suffered a muscle strain and left the U.S. camp early and is suspended for this clash anyway. Defensively we all know what to expect from Atletico but star goalkeeper Jan Oblak has been missing in goal in recent weeks and is aiming to return for this game. This season Atletico are more attacking and can blow teams away with goals in bunches, and their attack revolves around Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez. With the former leaving for Orlando City in MLS in a few months he will want to leave on a high with some big performances in the Spanish Cup final, Champions League and La Liga. Ademola Lookman has provided a real threat on the left since arriving and gives Atletico a different dimension.
**Barcelona team news, focus**
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Barca have plenty of injuries in defense with Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde and Andres Christensen out. Key midfielder Frenkie de Jong has also been missing. Still, Flick has so many incredible attacking talents and Barcelona are basically unplayable when everything clicks. Marcus Rashford, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez is a heck of a forward unit to rotate between. If Barca win this it will feel like a gigantic step towards winning the La Liga title and will give them a huge boost ahead of their Champions League quarterfinals against Ateltico.
**Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona prediction**
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This is going to be fun and Barca’s high defensive line may struggle against Atletico. Go for plenty of goals and a draw. **_Atletico Madrid 2-2 Barcelona_**.
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