Preview: Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona – team news, lineups, prediction, live stream

Atletico have only won eight of their 15 La Liga matches this season, drawing three and losing the other four, with a total of 27 points leaving them in fourth position in the table, 11 points off leaders Barcelona.

The Red and Whites will also enter this match off the back of a win in the Copa del Rey, beating Real Oviedo 2-0 on Wednesday night to advance into the last-16 stage of the competition.

The Copa del Rey represents Atletico’s best chance of silverware this season, as a disastrous Champions League group-stage campaign saw them finish bottom of their section, meaning that the team do not have any European football in the second half of the campaign.

Atleti recorded a 2-0 win over Barcelona in the corresponding match last season, but they suffered a 4-2 defeat at Camp Nou in the last game between the two sides last February.

Barcelona, meanwhile, were also in Copa del Rey action earlier this week, progressing to the last-16 stage of the competition courtesy of a 4-3 win over Intercity.

As it stands, Xavi’s side are top of the table, level on points (38) with second-placed Real Madrid, with both sides boasting a record of 12 wins, two draws and one defeat from 15 league games this term.

Atletico could be boosted by the return of Stefan Savic, who has trained ahead of the match, but Sergio Reguilon and Mario Hermoso are both injury doubts for the home side.

Simeone selected a strong team against Real Oviedo in the Copa del Rey, and it is expected to be a similar XI for this match, albeit with some alterations, with Pablo Barrios and Geoffrey Kondogbia set to start.

Savic will also be in the XI if he can prove his fitness over the next 24 hours, with the 31-year-old absent in the Copa del Rey last time out due to a muscular issue.

As for Barcelona, Xavi has no injury concerns ahead of this match, but the visitors will be missing both Robert Lewandowski and Jordi Alba in the Spanish capital through suspension.

Ferran Torres could be given the nod through the middle in Lewandowski’s absence, while Xavi has big decisions to make elsewhere, particularly at the back.

Jules Kounde could be asked to play as a right-back, with fit-again Ronald Araujo partnering Andreas Christensen in the middle, while Gavi might be the player to miss out in midfield, with Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets potentially operating alongside Pedri.