Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona

Estadio Wanda Metropolitano is the venue as Atletico Madrid and Barcelona go head-to-head in a mouth-watering La Liga showdown.

Ex-Barcelona striker Luis Suarez and current Barcelona loanee Antoine Griezmann staged Atletico Madrid’s late Champions League comeback against AC Milan, handing their side a precious 2-1 away victory. ‘Los Rojiblancos’ will be aiming to build on that result here following a dismal 1-0 away defeat to below-par Deportivo Alaves last time out and at least maintain a three-point deficit to table-toppers Real Madrid. Aware that a potential loss here would enable Barcelona to leapfrog them in the standings, the reigning Spanish champions will fall back on a three-game unbeaten top-flight H2H run anywhere (W1, D2). But it’s worth noting that ‘Los Colchoneros’ have pulled off just one triumph in their last 11 La Liga meetings with this opposition (D3, L7). Yet, an impressive 11-match unbeaten streak at home in all competitions suggests Atletico will have their say here.

In the meantime, Barcelona have failed to attempt a single shot on target for the second Champions League match running, as they fell to a dreadful 3-0 defeat to Benfica in midweek. Under-pressure manager Ronald Koeman could be taking charge of Barca for the last time here, with the Camp Now powerbrokers lining up his replacement. All the Dutchman can hope for here is to improve his dismal overall managerial record against Atletico (W1, D1, L3). The ‘Blaugrana’ have yet to win away from home in La Liga this season (D2), though they’ve gone unbeaten in 15 of their 17 away league matches (W12, D3) since losing this corresponding fixture 1-0 in 2020/21. The Catalans have turned from an attacking force to be reckoned with to a toothless bunch, having netted under 1.5 goals in their last three La Liga road trips in a row.