Atletico Madrid Form
Before the international break, the club lost an away derby against Real Madrid (2:3). Although Atletico opened the scoring and were in front at half-time, they failed to even earn a draw by full-time. The defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu was their first in the last five league matches; prior to that, the team had put together four straight wins in the competition. As a result, the club have once again dropped out of the La Liga top three — they now sit fourth, one point behind Villarreal. It is also worth noting that in home matches this La Liga season, Atletico have collected 40 points out of a possible 45; only Barcelona have a better record by that metric (45).
- The team have scored in 31 of their previous 32 home matches in the Spanish league.
- The club’s no-draw home run in this competition stands at 14 matches (13 wins, 1 defeat).
- Atletico have won with a (+1.5) handicap in five straight La Liga matches.
Potential Atletico Madrid Lineup (4-4-2)*
Juan Musso – Marcos Llorente, Robin Le Normand, David Hancko, Matteo Ruggeri – Johnny Cardoso, Koke, Giuliano Simeone, Ademola Lookman – Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann.
Midfielders Marcos Llorente and Johnny Cardoso are suspended. Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo Mendoza are not ready for the game due to injuries. The participation of goalkeeper Jan Oblak and defender Marc Pubill is in doubt.
Barcelona Form
In the last round, Barcelona edged past Rayo Vallecano (1:0). That result extended the club’s winning run in La Liga to five matches. However, it is worth noting that four of those five fixtures were played at Camp Nou, and in front of their own supporters Barcelona have not dropped a single point since the start of the season. Away from home in 2026, the team have alternated between wins and defeats. Still, across 14 away matches in the current La Liga campaign, Barcelona have taken 28 points — only Real Madrid have collected more (30). In the standings, Barcelona remain top with a four-point lead.
- The team have scored in 49 consecutive Spanish league matches.
- Barcelona’s run of matches without a draw in La Liga has reached 26 games (22 wins, 4 defeats).
- In this La Liga season, Barcelona have scored 78 goals — comfortably the best tally in the competition.
Potential Barcelona Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Joan Garcia – Joao Cancelo, Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo, Gerard Martin – Pedri, Marc Bernal – Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez – Robert Lewandowski.
Defender Andreas Christensen, midfielder Frenkie de Jong and forward Raphinha will miss out through injury. The involvement of defenders Jules Kounde and Alex Balde is in doubt.
* For each team, the starting XI from its previous match in this competition is listed.
