Preview: Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups
On Sunday afternoon, Camp Nou will host one of the biggest games in Spanish football history when Barcelona welcomes Atletico Madrid for a La Liga match.
With 29 games played, the home team leads the table easily, 11 points ahead of Real Madrid in second place. Atletico is in third place, just two points behind Real Madrid.
Match preview
Due to back-to-back draws against Girona and Getafe on April 10 and 16, respectively, Barcelona's title push has slowed down, but they still hold a dominating lead in the standings.
In fact, Xavi's team had a strong La Liga season, winning 23, drawing four, and losing two of their 29 games to total 73 points, which put them 11 points ahead of the defending champions Real Madrid.
There is no escaping the truth that the current European season has been a letdown, with Barcelona failing to advance through the Champions League group stage before falling to Manchester United in the Europa League knockout playoff round.
Xavi's team were also eliminated by Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey courtesy of a shock 4-0 home loss to their Clasico rivals, so it is likely to be the Spanish Super Cup and La Liga title in terms of trophies this season, which will go down as a relatively successful campaign.
Barcelona have the best home record in La Liga this season, picking up 36 points from their 14 matches, but Atletico have been strong on their travels, collecting 30 points from 14 games.
Both teams have won twice in the last five meetings between the two sides in Spain's top flight, with Barcelona recording a 1-0 victory in the reverse contest at Wanda Metropolitano towards the start of January.
Atletico also failed to make it out of their Champions League group and actually finished bottom of their section, which also saw them fail to qualify for the Europa League, while the capital giants suffered Copa del Rey disappointment to Real Madrid at the end of January.
As a result, Diego Simeone's side have only had league football to focus on in recent months, which has helped them solidify a top-four position and move close to second-placed Real Madrid, who are now just two points ahead of their capital rivals heading into the next set of fixtures.
Atletico have won each of their last six in the league, while they are unbeaten in Spain's top flight since the 1-0 reverse to Barcelona back on January 8, which is a brilliant run of form.
The Red and Whites will have no fears in terms of dropping out of the top four, sitting 12 points ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis, and they are not going to win the league, so their focus will be on chasing down Real Madrid for second, with Carlo Ancelotti's side certain to have their focus elsewhere.
It is set to be an interesting summer transfer window for Atletico, with the futures of a number of players being called into question, while there is also ongoing uncertainty surrounding Simeone's position for next season.
Barcelona La Liga form:
Barcelona form (all competitions):
Atletico Madrid La Liga form:
Team News
Barcelona will again definitely be without the services of Andreas Christensen due to a calf problem, while Sergi Roberto is facing a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring issue.
Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong are all getting closer to returning to action, though, and there have been suggestions that the trio could even be in the squad for this match.
If that is the case, none are likely to be starters, but head coach Xavi could make changes to the side that started against Getafe, with Ansu Fati and Marcos Alonso likely to come into the XI.
Alonso's introduction would see Jules Kounde move across to right-back to replace the injured Roberto, while Fati could take Jordi Alba's spot, with Alejandro Balde dropping back into the defence.
Atletico's midfielders Marcos Llorente and Geoffrey Kondogbia will both serve a one-match suspension after receiving cautions in the team's 2-1 victory over Almeria last weekend.
While Reinildo is out for the season with a catastrophic knee injury and Memphis Depay is still very questionable for injury, Stefan Savic should be able to play defense after recovering from a minor ailment.
Antoine Griezmann, who scored twice against Almeria the last time they played, will take on his former team, and the visitors may also insert Alvaro Morata into the final third of the field.
Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Alonso, Balde; Kessie, Busquets, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Fati
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup: Oblak; Hermoso, Savic, Gimenez; Molina, De Paul, Barrios, Koke, Carrasco; Morata, Griezmann
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