Atletico takes 11-game winning streak to Barca in battle for La Liga top spot

Associated Press Barcelona: When Atletico Madrid led the Spanish league in spending on summer transfers, Diego Simeone's club was making a bet it could challenge for its first title since 2021. On Saturday, Atletico can move to the top of the table with a win at a Barcelona side that is struggling to reproduce its great start to the campaign. And to make matters worse for Hansi Flick, the hosts will be missing injured star Lamine Yamal for its last game before a short winter break.

Atletico has pulled level on points with Barcelona after reeling off six wins in a row in La Liga, while Barcelona has won only one of its last six league games. Atletico midfielder Pablo Barrios expects a difficult game despite the contrasting form of the opponents. “What is happening to them is kind of the opposite of what happened to us,” Barrios told Spanish radio Cadena SER. “When people were doubting us they were playing incredible, and even though they have lost some games now, they still have great players and I am sure it is going to a very tough game.” Flick was earning praise from Barcelona fans and even Lionel Messi after the German's great start when Barcelona was scoring in bunches and rolled off win after win, and it looked like the top title candidate when it crushed defending champion Real Madrid 4-0 in late October.

But that turned out to be a peak of performance from which Barcelona has subsequently fallen. Barcelona has only two wins in its last eight games overall, a bad run during which it has endured humbling home defeats to Las Palmas and Leganes.