Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Blaugrana hope to retain strong record against Atleti

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, La Liga

The Blaugrana will hope to get back to winning ways, but look likely to face a tough exam when Atletico Madrid come to town on Sunday.

After two poor results during which they had to settle for back to back scoreless draws, Barcelona will be looking to get back on track when they host Atletico Madrid on Sunday. The Blaugrana still do have a comfortable lead over second-placed Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, but the fact that Xavi's men have failed to score in their last three games across all competitions will have caused some worry in some quarters.

Although Barcelona look set to clinch the league title, it has been an overall disappointing season by their lofty standards. The Blaugrana were dumped out of both the Champions and Europa League, and were thoroughly beaten in the semi-finals of the Copa Del Rey after a heavy loss to bitter rivals Real Madrid. Nonetheless, the Spanish giants can console themselves with the fact that they will at least add one trophy to their cabinet at the end of this term.

Despite their poor form lately, Barcelona's home record remains the best in the division, with 11 wins and three draws so far. In fact, the Blaugrana are yet to lose at home, but that could come under threat when Atletico Madrid come to town this weekend.

Diego Simeone's side have been arguably been one of the most in-form teams in 2023, with just one defeat in La Liga since the start of the current year. The team that beat them? None other than Barcelona, who eked out a narrow 1-0 victory at Los Rojiblancos home ground back in January. Since then, Atleti have gone their last 13 games unbeaten, and come into this contest on a six match winning streak.

Their record on the road is certainly nothing to scoff at, with just two defeats from their 14 games so far this season. The last team to beat Los Rojiblancos in their travels was Mallorca back in November 2019, and despite facing a daunting record at Camp Nou (they haven't won at Barcelona's home ground since 2006), it's safe to say that the visitors will certainly be fancying their chances at picking up a point - or perhaps even more - on Sunday.

Team news: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

Barcelona: Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong have all reportedly made great strides in their return to fitness and may be able to make the matchday squad for Sunday. However, Andreas Christensen and Sergi Roberto are set to miss out with calf and hamstring issues respectively.

Atletico Madrid: Both Marcos Llorente and Geoffrey Kondogbia are suspended for this game, while Memphis Depay and Reinildo remain out with long-term injuries.

Match facts: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 16 home La Liga meetings with Atletico Madrid (W11 D5)
The Blaugrana also have yet to lose a home La Liga match so far this season
Atletico Madrid are on a six game winning streak in La Liga
Diego Simeone has yet to win a match against Barcelona at Camp Nou in 15 prior attempts