Barcelona face Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night in a match that can shake the top of La Liga. Barcelona are 1st after 14 games. Atletico are 3 points behind in 4th and climbing fast. Both teams want a strong result, and both believe they can win. Barcelona have not hit their top level from last season, but they are still getting the job done. Flick’s team have 11 league wins already and comes into this match with 4 straight La Liga victories since the loss to Real Madrid. They beat Elche, Celta Vigo, Athletic Bilbao and then handled Alaves 3-1 on Saturday.

That match had a chaotic start. Barcelona conceded after 43 seconds, which probably woke them up faster than their team talk. Yamal pulled them level, and Dani Olmo scored twice to turn the match around. That win pushed Barça back above Real Madrid. With Madrid playing Athletic on Wednesday, Barcelona can go 4 points clear if they win here. They have also won 6 of their last 7 league meetings with Atletico. They are the top scorers in the league with 39 goals, so they believe they can break anyone down.

Atletico arrive with real confidence. Their start was slow with only 3 wins in their first 8 games. Since then, they have turned into a different team. They have won 6 straight league games and 7 straight matches in all competitions. They beat Inter Milan 2-1 in the Champions League after a late push, then beat Real Oviedo 2-0 in La Liga with a first-half brace from Sorloth.

That win also put Simeone level with Miguel Munoz for the 2nd-most La Liga wins in history with 323. He will try to make it 324 at Camp Nou. Atletico also won their last league visit here with a 96th-minute Sorloth winner in December 2024. They know the feeling of leaving Camp Nou smiling. Barcelona still have injury issues. Ter Stegen, Gavi, and Fermin Lopez are all out. Araujo is unlikely to recover from illness. Pedri, De Jong, and Kounde should all start. Eric Garcia is available after coming off at half time on Saturday.

Atletico are without Marcos Llorente and probably without Le Normand too. Gimenez, Ruggeri, Barrios, Cardoso, and Giuliano Simeone should return to the lineup. This feels like a tight game with a lot of quality on the pitch. Both teams are in form, and both benches will be sweating.

🔹 Lamine Yamal – Always dangerous, even on quiet days

🔹 Dani Olmo – Scored twice last match and looks sharp 

🔹 Julian Alvarez – Expected to lead the Atletico attack 

🔹 Pedri – Gives Barcelona calm and control

💵 Barcelona to win: 1.81 
💵 Draw: 3.35 
💵 Atletico to win: 4.95 
💵 Over 2.5 Goals: 1.44

Barcelona have the goals and the home crowd. Atletico have momentum and the confidence of a team that believes in itself. Expect a close match with chances at both ends.