Barcelona v Atletico Madrid – Line-ups, stats and preview

Match Preview for Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

Camp Nou stages one of La Liga’s showcase fixtures on Tuesday as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid meet with the title race already tightening near the top.

Barcelona sit first after 14 rounds, though the early part of their season has lacked some of last year’s rhythm.

Atletico trail by three points in fourth, but arrive with momentum after a strong run of results and belief that they can insert themselves into the fight for the trophy.

Barcelona enter this one on four straight league wins, responding well after losing El Clasico. Their most recent outing brought a 3-1 home win over Alaves, despite falling behind inside the opening minute.

Atletico approach this fixture with equal confidence. After a slow start to the campaign, they have put together six straight league victories and seven wins in all competitions.

Diego Simeone now stands level with Miguel Munoz on 323 La Liga wins as a manager, and could move into second place outright if his side take the points at Camp Nou.

Team news for Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

Barcelona remain without Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Gavi, while Fermin Lopez is still unavailable with a calf issue.

Ronald Araujo missed the win over Alaves due to illness and is unlikely to recover in time. Eric Garcia should return after coming off at half-time on Saturday, and Frenkie de Jong is expected to rejoin the squad after personal reasons kept him out. Pedri and Jules Kounde are also in contention to start.

Atletico make the trip without Marcos Llorente, who continues to recover from a thigh problem. Robin Le Normand is still working back from his knee injury and looks doubtful.

Simeone rotated at the weekend but is likely to bring back several regular starters, including Jose Maria Gimenez, Matteo Ruggeri, Pablo Barrios, Johnny Cardoso and Giuliano Simeone. Koke should anchor the midfield, and Julian Alvarez is expected to lead the line, even after Alexander Sorloth’s brace last time out.

Expected line-ups for Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

Barcelona: Garcia; Kounde, Garcia, Cubarsi, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Molina, Gimenez, Hancko, Ruggeri; Cardoso; Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Baena; Alvarez

How to watch Barcelona v Atletico Madrid: TV channel, online stream

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid will kick-off at 20:00 GMT at Camp Nou. It is available to watch on Premier Sports Player and Premier Sports 1. Fans can also catch the match on La Liga TV.

The stats for Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

• Atletico won on their previous league visit to Camp Nou with a stoppage-time goal
• Barcelona top the table with 11 wins from 14 league matches
• The Blaugrana have scored 39 goals – the highest tally in La Liga this season
• Barcelona have won six of the last seven league meetings with Atletico
• Atletico have won their last 6 league games and last 7 in all competitions

Prediction