Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
LaLiga 2018-19
Venue: Camp Nou
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2019
Kick-off: 7:45pm GMT, today
Barcelona can take a giant step towards sealing their latest LaLiga title tonight as they face closest challengers Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde's Barca head into the mammoth clash eight points ahead of Diego Simeone's side after fighting back to draw an eight-goal thriller against Villarreal in midweek.
Atletico managed to whittle down the deficit courtesy of a 2-0 win over Girona as Antoine Griezmann ended a run of seven matches without scoring.
The visitors will know that they surely have to beat the Blaugrana again today in order to stand any chance of lifting the title in May.
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid team news and predicted line-ups
Barcelona will be without Ousmane Dembele, who could also miss the trip to Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League next week.
Second-choice goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen is back in training after a calf problem, but Rafinha (knee) remains out and Arturo Vidal is suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season against Villarreal.
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen, Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur, Coutinho, Messi, Suarez
Atletico's Chelsea loanee Alvaro Morata is a major doubt to face Barcelona after spraining his ankle against Girona, while Diego Costa is struggling with a hamstring tear.
Thomas Lemar is expected to miss another fortnight as the result of a thigh injury and the Bayern Munich-bound Lucas Hernandez will not play again this season.
Atletico XI: Oblak, Arias, Gimenez, Godin, Juanfran, Rodri, Koke, Thomas, Niguez, Griezmann, Kalinic
Score prediction: Barcelona 3-2 Atletico
Barcelona were on a run of seven straight wins across all competitions before that epic game against Villarreal, while miserly Atletico have conceded only two league goals since February.
The hosts should get the win they need to move 11 points clear with seven games left to play, though expect it to be anything other than straightforward.
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