The big match this weekend from the La Liga comes from the Estadio Vicente Calderón in Madrid as Barcelona travel to the Spanish capital for the all-important encounter for both teams as they look to close the gap on La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Also read: Jose Mourinho plots move for Gianluigi Donnarumma
If Barcelona do defeat Atletico Madrid on Sunday (Feb 26), they will climb to the top of the La Liga table temporarily but they might not be there for long as Real Madrid have played two games less and should they win those games, they will remain at the top of the table.
Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, have not been in the best of form this season and are currently in the fourth place in the La Liga table and they will be determined to get this win as they look to close the gap with Barcelona and Sevilla who are six and seven points, respectively, ahead of them at the moment.
Diego Simeone's team goes into this match after an impressive win in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen away from home and given Barcelona's form at the moment, they will be confident to grab all three points in this match.
The big news for Atletico Madrid ahead of the match is that Diego Godin could be making a return from an injury layoff. But the likes of Tiago, Juanfran and Augusto Fernandez will remain sidelined. Despite Barcelona enduring a tough spell at the moment, Diego Simeone still regards them as the best team in the world but having said that, the La Liga is improving now because it's not only about Real and Barcelona anymore.
"It is very difficult to compete as they have competed in the last decade. They have won 12 titles with Luis Enrique; they have always competed at the best level and I believe a bad match can be had by anyone, like they did in Paris."
"The league always depends on what Real Madrid and Barcelona do because they are superior. The league is improving, because after Atletico won the league, there are teams like Sevilla who allow themselves to dream of this possibility."
"Villarreal grows, Real grows, Valencia will return... It's a super competitive league at the expense of Madrid and Barcelona, who are aspiring to win the Champions League every year. "
Barcelona, on the other hand, has not been at their best at all in recent matches. They suffered a 0-4 defeat at the hands of PSG in the Champions League and needed a late penalty from Lionel Messi to give them the win last week. They will have to be much better if they are to get anything from this match against Atletico Madrid.
The reigning La Liga champions have a few injuries to deal with ahead of this match. Aleix Vidal is set to miss this match after he suffered a horrible leg injury recently while Javier Mascherano is a doubtful starter. However, Arda Turan could make a comeback from injury and after missing the previous match through a suspension, Sergio Busquets could also return.
Luis Enrique said in an interview leading up to this match that his goal was to play a great match and grab the three points. He also said that he does not envy anything about Atletico and when asked about the scene in the dressing room, he said the team is united and happy.
"Our goal is to play a great match and get the three points. Atletico are going to present us the same difficulties as always, although it will be different than in the cup. It's one of the matches of the weekend and very important for both teams."
"Atletico are a top team, but I don't envy anything about them and prefer to stick with talking about my team. The team has always been united. They're happier when things have gone well and less happy when they have gone wrong. In any event, I have a rule not to talk about internal things that affect the development of the team."
Where to watch
The La Liga match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona is set to start at 3:15pm GMT (8:45pm IST, 10:15am EST)
TV and Live Streaming information
India: TV: Sony Six/HD. Live streaming: Sonyliv
UK: TV: Sky Sports 2/HD. Live streaming: Sky Go.
USA: TV: beIN Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
Spain: TV: beIN LaLiga. Live Streaming: beIN Sports Connect Espana.
Africa: TV: SuperSport 7. Live streaming: SuperSport live.
