One of the standout fixtures on the La Liga calendar will take place at Wanda Metropolitano today as Atletico Madrid welcome Barcelona for what should be a fascinating affair.
Atletico are currently third in the table after an impressive start to the season, but Barca are down in eighth, having only picked up 11 points from their opening seven matches of 2020-21.
Simeone’s side have been very impressive this season, winning five and drawing two of their seven matches to sit third in the table, just three points off leaders Real Sociedad with two games in hand.
Barca, meanwhile, entered the international break off the back of a thumping 5-2 success over Real Betis, which was actually their first win in the league since the start of October.
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a bit of a struggle for the Catalan giants this term, with the speculation surrounding Lionel Messi’s future at Camp Nou far from helpful.
A record of three wins, two draws and two defeats from seven matches has left them in eighth spot in the table, and a defeat to Atletico this weekend would actually leave them nine points behind Simeone’s side on the same number of games, which would be quite an advantage at this stage of the season.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid will be looking to return to winning ways in Spain’s top flight when they continue their 2020-21 campaign away to Villarreal this afternoon.
Los Blancos suffered a 4-1 defeat to Valencia before the international break to drop to fourth position in the table, two positions and two points behind Villarreal, who have made an excellent start to 2020-21. Villarreal finished fifth in La Liga last season, but the early indications are that the Yellow Submarine are more than capable of challenging for a top-four position in 2020-21.
Unai Emery’s side have been extremely impressive in the league this term, picking up 18 points from their nine matches to sit second in the table, just two points behind leaders Real Sociedad.
