Key events
It’s almost time for kick off, so let’s have a reminder of the teams. I’ve listed Barcelona with Raphinha on the right but they may have Fermin Lopez right, Gavi in the centre and Raphinha to the left.
Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1) Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Raphinha, Fermin Lopez, Gavi; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: R Araujo, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Pablo Torre, Pau Víctor, F De Jong, Szczęsny, Astralaga, Eric, Gerard Martin, Sergi Domínguez.
Atletico Madrid (possible 4-4-2) Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, de Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez.
Substitutes: Azpilicueta, Correa, Koke, Lemar, Le Normand, Lino, Mandava, Molina, Musso, Riquelme, Sorloth, Witsel.
It’s tight at the top
The late Premier League game finished Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal. Join Scott Murray for reaction.
Team news: Yamal out through injury
Hansi Flick makes three changes to the side that was beaten at home by Leganes. Pau Cubarsi, Gavi and Fermin Lopez come in for Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo and the injured Lamine Yamal.
Atleti make one change from last weekend’s win over Getafe. Conor Gallagher is back, Samuel Lino drops out.
Barcelona (possible 4-2-3-1) Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Raphinha, Lopez, Gavi; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: R Araujo, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, Pablo Torre, Pau Víctor, F De Jong, Szczęsny, Astralaga, Eric, Gerard Martin, Sergi Domínguez.
Atletico Madrid (possible 4-4-2) Oblak; Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Simeone, de Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez.
Substitutes: Azpilicueta, Correa, Koke, Lemar, Le Normand, Lino, Mandava, Molina, Musso, Riquelme, Sorloth, Witsel.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the weekend’s biggest fixture: Barcelona v Atletico Madrid at the Estadio Olimpic Lluis. It’s 1st v 2nd in La Liga, with Real Madrid breathing on the shoulders of both with increasing intensity. Not that anything can match the intensity of Atleti’s form: they’ve won 11 in a row in all competitions, including an incredible comeback from 3-1 down against Sevilla a fortnight ago.
Barcelona have gone in the opposite direction. October’s orgy of goals has been followed by a really poor run of five points in six league games, which includes defeats at home to Las Palmas and Leganes. Maybe a game of this magnitude is what they need to get them going again. Both teams know that, if they win tonight, they’ll be top going into 2025.
Kick off 8pm GMT, 9pm CET.
