Atletico could blow the title race wide open by beating Barcelona

Neutrals will be rooting for Atletico Madrid this weekend as they seek to blow La Liga even more open with around a third of the season gone.

Just four points separate the top six sides in the current La Liga standings, with only one point difference between first-place Barcelona and the rest of the top four.

Barcelona have not won either of their last two matches — losing 3-4 to Real Betis and drawing 1-1 at Inter Milan in the Champions League — but before that they had won five on the spin.

Amid all the turmoil at Real Madrid, slow starts for Atletico and Barcelona have largely gone under the radar. Win here, and it will all be forgotten — for both sides, this game represents a chance to put down a real marker in the title chase, especially important with Real Madrid improving under Santiago Solari.

Key battles

Philippe Coutinho missed out on international duty due to an injury and may miss out on this game, which would be a big loss for the visitors.

Ivan Rakitic is suspended having been sent off for two yellow card offenses against Real Betis before the international break, meaning Arturo Vidal is likely to join Sergio Busquets and Arthur in Barcelona’s midfield.

That trio will line up against Saul Niguez, Thomas Partey and Rodri in the centre of the Wanda Metropolitano pitch, with creativity and solidity present on both sides in equal measure.

Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele will face two of Stefan Savic, Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin, although all three Atletico men have had injury problems over the last couple of weeks. Keeping Messi quiet, in particular, will be crucial, as it always is when facing Barcelona.

Atletico have been hit-and-miss in attack so far this season, but now would be a perfect time to find form. It will be the responsibility of Antoine Griezmann, Diego Costa and Angel Correa to get the better of Gerard Pique and Clement Longlet.

Summer signing Thomas Lemar, who arrived from Monaco, is yet to ignite in the white and red stripes of Atletico Madrid, but he has the quality to carve out opportunities. His dead-ball ability could also prove useful with Atletico having a height advantage.

Previous meetings

Barcelona have not been beaten by Atletico Madrid in any competition since 2016 when they turned around their Champions League quarter-final tie to win 3-2 on aggregate having been 2-1 down from the first leg.

The last time Atletico beat Barcelona in La Liga was more than nine years ago, although they did win the title ahead of them in 2014 by drawing 1-1 with Barcelona on the final day of the season.

Last season, the game in Madrid finished 1-1 as goals from Saul and Suarez cancelled each other out, while at the Camp Nou an early Messi goal was the difference.

Across the last 26 meetings between the sides in all competitions, Atletico have only won twice; getting a rare three points against their title rivals here could be huge not only for them, but for the rest of the teams in the chasing pack.