One of the biggest fixtures on the La Liga calendar will take place at Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday night, with Atletico Madrid welcoming Barcelona to the Spanish capital.
Atletico are currently fourth in Spain's top flight, boasting 27 points from their opening 15 games of the season, while Barcelona are top of the table, level on points (38) with second-placed Real Madrid.
Match preview
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Atletico have only won eight of their 15 La Liga matches this season, drawing three and losing the other four, with a total of 27 points leaving them in fourth position in the table, 11 points off leaders Barcelona.
Diego Simeone's side will not be in a title race this season, with the team instead focused on making the top four, as they are only two points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao and sixth-placed Real Betis.
Atletico recorded a 2-0 win over Elche in the league last time out, with Joao Felix and Alvaro Morata scoring the goals at Wanda Metropolitano, and it was the team's first success in the league since October 23.
The Red and Whites will also enter this match off the back of a win in the Copa del Rey, beating Real Oviedo 2-0 on Wednesday night to advance into the last-16 stage of the competition.
The Copa del Rey represents Atletico's best chance of silverware this season, as a disastrous Champions League group-stage campaign saw them finish bottom of their section, meaning that the team do not have any European football in the second half of the campaign.
Atleti recorded a 2-0 win over Barcelona in the corresponding match last season, but they suffered a 4-2 defeat at Camp Nou in the last game between the two sides last February.
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Barcelona, meanwhile, were also in Copa del Rey action earlier this week, progressing to the last-16 stage of the competition courtesy of a 4-3 win over Intercity.
The Catalan outfit were given a scare by their third-tier opponents, who equalised on three separate occasions to take the match into extra-time, but Ansu Fati won it for Xavi's side in the 103rd minute.
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Espanyol in the league last weekend, with Joselu cancelling out an opener from Marcos Alonso in a match that produced two red cards.
As it stands, Xavi's side are top of the table, level on points (38) with second-placed Real Madrid, with both sides boasting a record of 12 wins, two draws and one defeat from 15 league games this term.
Barcelona are chasing success in four competitions, as they will also take on Real Betis in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on January 11 ahead of a potential final against Real Madrid or Valencia.
Meanwhile, the La Liga giants will face Manchester United in a two-legged Europa League knockout round playoff next month, with the first leg of the contest set to take place at Camp Nou on February 16.
Team News
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Atletico could be boosted by the return of Stefan Savic, who has trained ahead of the match, but Sergio Reguilon and Mario Hermoso are both injury doubts for the home side.
Simeone selected a strong team against Real Oviedo in the Copa del Rey, and it is expected to be a similar XI for this match, albeit with some alterations, with Pablo Barrios and Geoffrey Kondogbia set to start.
Savic will also be in the XI if he can prove his fitness over the next 24 hours, with the 31-year-old absent in the Copa del Rey last time out due to a muscular issue.
Felix was not in the squad against Real Oviedo amid the speculation surrounding his future, but the Portugal international is expected to be on the bench here.
As for Barcelona, Xavi has no injury concerns ahead of this match, but the visitors will be missing both Robert Lewandowski and Jordi Alba in the Spanish capital through suspension.
Ferran Torres could be given the nod through the middle in Lewandowski's absence, while Xavi has big decisions to make elsewhere, particularly at the back.
Jules Kounde could be asked to play as a right-back, with fit-again Ronald Araujo partnering Andreas Christensen in the middle, while Gavi might be the player to miss out in midfield, with Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets potentially operating alongside Pedri.
Raphinha could miss out in the final third of the field, meanwhile, with Fati and Ousmane Dembele potentially getting the nod in the wide areas.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Savic, Witsel, Gimenez; Llorente, Kondogbia, Barrios, Koke, Carrasco; Griezmann, Morata
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, Busquets, F de Jong; Dembele, F Torres, Fati
We say: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Barcelona
Atletico have not been particularly impressive at home this season, only picking up 11 points from their seven league fixtures at Wanda Metropolitano, while Barcelona have won six of their seven away matches in Spain's top flight. It would not be a shock to see the Catalan outfit triumph here, but we just have a feeling that the points will be shared at the end of a close contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
