Pre-game reading: Comments from Flick and Simeone ahead of the match
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18:20 CET - Hello and welcome to our coverage of our featured match on this packed Sunday of football. The weekend really peaks this evening with a clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, first and third in the LaLiga standings after Real Madrid's win on Saturday sent them level on points with the Catalans.
Hansi Flick's side were the early form team, not just in Spain but around Europe, during the opening stages of the season, going on an 11-match winning run across competitions. They were then halted by PSG in the Champions League before losing the Clasico two weeks ago at home, which crucially tightened things up at the top of the table.
Conversely, Diego Simeone's Atleti have gone somewhat under the radar after an up-and-down first month of the season. However, they find themselves right in the mix now thanks to their seven-match winning streak, which has them top of the form charts in Spain.
Powered by Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, Barca have scored the most goals after 11 rounds, and by some distance (46), while Atleti have conceded the fewest (eight). That means this is all set up for a classic match between a brilliant attack and a parsimonious defence.
And that's not to mention the Julian Alvarez saga, which adds a healthy dose of soap to this Spanish opera - all eyes will be on the Argentine tonight to see if he dares to score against the team that courted him so publicly all summer.
There's plenty of recent sporting history between the sides, too. Remarkably, they met not twice but six times last season, with Barca winning both LaLiga clashes. However, Atleti came out on top in their two-legged Champions League and Copa del Rey ties, even winning 4-0 on one occasion.
Real Madrid's big win yesterday in Valencia has only added importance to this high-stakes clash. Whatever way it falls, the winner will be top of the table heading into the international break!
