Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona - La Liga: TV channel, team news, lineups & prediction
Atletico Madrid host high-flying Barcelona in the standout fixture of this weekend's La Liga schedule on Sunday night.
Diego Simeone's side limped into the winter hiatus, finishing bottom of their Champions League group and suffering surprise defeats to Cadiz and Mallorca. However, the 2021 La Liga champions have won all three post-World Cup matches and go into the weekend's games in fourth place.
Barcelona were pushed to extra time by third-tier CF Intercity in the Copa del Rey in midweek, narrowly avoiding a stunning upset after dropping points in the league against Espanyol on New Year's Eve. The Catalans have the exact same record as Real Madrid after 15 league games and can't afford any slip-ups in a desperately tight title race.
Here's everything you need to know about this lofty clash.
Where are Atletico vs Barcelona playing?
- Location: Madrid, Spain
- Stadium: Civitas Metropolitano
- Date: Sunday 8 January
- Kick-off Time: 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
- VAR: Alejandro José Hernandez Hernández
- Referee: Jose Luis Munuera Montero
Atletico vs Barcelona H2H Results (Last Five Games)
- Atletico: 2 Wins
- Barcelona: 1 Win
- Draws: 2
Current Form (Last Five Games)
- Atletico: WWWWW
- Barcelona: WWWDW
How to watch Atletico vs Barcelona on TV and live stream
United Kingdom
- ITV4 (UK)
- ITVX (UK)
- Viaplay Sports 1 (UK)
- LaLigaTV (UK)
United States
- ESPN+ (United States)
Canada
- TSN (Canada)
Atletico team news
Simeone will be without Mario Hermoso after the centre-back marked his return to La Liga action with a red card. Atletico were yet to score against Elche when Hermoso received two yellow cards in three minutes at the end of December.
The versatile Reinildo is an able deputy for Hermoso if Simeone sticks with a back three.
Atletico predicted lineup vs Barcelona
Atletico Starting 11 (3-5-2): Oblak; Savic, Gimenez, Reinildo; Llorente, Barrios, Kondogbia, Koke, Carrasco; Griezmann, Felix.
Bench: Grbic, Felipe, Saul, Reguilon, Correa, Witsel, Lemar, Morata, Molina.
Barcelona team news
Barcelona managed to get Robert Lewandowski's three-match suspension delayed so that he was available for last weekend's Catalan derby. However, the ban has been upheld, starting with this weekend's trip to Madrid. Jordi Alba is also suspended after he was sent off against Espanyol.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Atletico
Barcelona Starting 11 (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Gavi, De Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Torres, Dembele.
Bench: Pena, Fati, Alonso, Bellerin, Roberto, Kessie, Busquets, Garcia, Depay.
Atletico vs Barcelona score prediction
Barcelona's only defeat in La Liga this season came in the Spanish capital. While Atletico Madrid are some way short of their city rivals, Simeone's side has proven to be a spoke in the wheel of too many teams to simply write off, especially at home.
Since August, Atletico have only lost once at the Metropolitano across all competitions - against Real in September's derby. However, Simeone's side have seemingly lost their parsimonious edge this season, waiting until after Christmas for their first home clean sheet of the league season.
Barcelona, by comparison, have conceded just six league goals all season - though goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is owed a great deal of credit. Last weekend, Espanyol demonstrated the success a side can have when they set out to frustrate Xavi's Barcelona - a tactic Simeone is no stranger to.
In what could well descend into a spiky affair, Atletico may have enough to hold on to a draw against a Barcelona side stripped of their goalscorer-in-chief.
Prediction: Atletico 1-1 Barcelona