Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: TV channel, live stream, squad news & preview

Barcelona would effectively seal the Primera Division title on Saturday if they were to overcome Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.

Ernesto Valverde’s side hold an eight-point advantage at the summit of the standings and victory at the weekend would leave them 11 clear with seven matches remaining, although defeat would conversely reopen the title race somewhat.

Having survived a scare by rallying to draw 4-4 against Villarreal on Tuesday , inspired by Lionel Messi, the Catalans remain unbeaten in 15 matches but may have one eye on their midweek Champions League quarter-final with Manchester United.

In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

LaLiga

Girona

GIR

21 Dec 202508:00

Atletico Madrid

ATM

LaLiga

Villarreal

VIL

21 Dec 202510:15

Barcelona

BAR

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be shown on Premier Sports 1 and streamed on Eleven Sports 1.

Barcelona starting XI: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur, Coutinho; Messi, Suarez.

Atletico Madrid starting XI: Oblak; Arias, Gimenez, Godin, Filipe Luis; Koke, Partey, Rodri, Saul; Griezmann, Costa.

Barcelona are 4/5 favourites with  Bet365 . Atletico Madrid are priced at 15/4 to cause an upset, while the draw can be backed at 13/5.

Click here to see all of bet 365's offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .

Getty Images

Whatever happens on Saturday when Barcelona meet Atletico Madrid, the Camp Nou side will remain strong favourites to win the Primera Division title, though a victory in La Liga’s standout weekend fixture would surely render the question ‘when’ and not ‘if’ they will pick up yet another Spanish crown.

The defending champions have led the way since beating Villarreal 2-0 on December 2, having put some indifferent early-season form behind them to rediscover the relentless level that saw them earn 93 points last term.

Only by winning their last eight matches of this season can they surpass that tally, with the weekend’s fixture clearly the biggest hurdle they have yet to clear.

When the teams met back in November, it took a last-gasp strike from Ousmane Dembele to salvage a point, with Atleti having led through Diego Costa’s 77th-minute effort.

Of course, no-one is under any illusions as to just how difficult Diego Simeone’s men are to overcome, with the Argentine having urged his side to make an especially determined effort in the forthcoming fixture .

"We have to stay as high as we can. We will try to win," he said after a 2-0 win over Girona on Tuesday.

"The important thing is that we are all together. Whether it's a coach or a player, since I came to the club, I have always seen that the important thing was that union."

Stopping Lionel Messi will, of course, be key. The Argentine is at the peak of his powers, having scored an outrageous free kick against Villarreal to help instigate an unlikely late comeback in the closing seconds of the midweek clash, when Barca trailed 4-2.

"Of course there is a Messi dependence, of course it exists, he is the best in the world,"  Valverde admitted after that encounter, having opted to leave the Argentine on the bench of the first hour of the game in order to rest him up for a big week.

Indeed, the coach believes the midweek setback will actually prove to be of use as Barca prepare for a double header against Atleti and Manchester United.

"We must improve so that we do not take opponents lightly, because we will play against teams that play for the league and the Champions League, and against those teams you cannot do that," he said.

Any side that fails to appreciate the problems that Atleti can cause does so at their peril.