Barcelona vs Atl. Madrid Football Match 8 Jan 2023

Atletico have only won eight of their 15 La Liga matches this season, drawing three and losing the other four, with a total of 27 points leaving them in fourth position in the table, 11 points off leaders Barcelona.

Diego Simeone’s side will not be in a title race this season, with the team instead focused on making the top four, as they are only two points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao and sixth-placed Real Betis.

Atletico recorded a 2-0 win over Elche in the league last time out, with Joao Felix and Alvaro Morata scoring the goals at Wanda Metropolitano, and it was the team’s first success in the league since October 23.

The Red and Whites will also enter this match off the back of a win in the Copa del Rey, beating Real Oviedo 2-0 on Wednesday night to advance into the last-16 stage of the competition.

The Copa del Rey represents Atletico’s best chance of silverware this season, as a disastrous Champions League group-stage campaign saw them finish bottom of their section, meaning that the team do not have any European football in the second half of the campaign.

Atleti recorded a 2-0 win over Barcelona in the corresponding match last season, but they suffered a 4-2 defeat at Camp Nou in the last game between the two sides last February.

Barcelona, meanwhile, were also in Copa del Rey action earlier this week, progressing to the last-16 stage of the competition courtesy of a 4-3 win over Intercity.

The Catalan outfit were given a scare by their third-tier opponents, who equalised on three separate occasions to take the match into extra-time, but Ansu Fati won it for Xavi’s side in the 103rd minute.

Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Espanyol in the league last weekend, with Joselu cancelling out an opener from Marcos Alonso in a match that produced two red cards.

As it stands, Xavi’s side are top of the table, level on points (38) with second-placed Real Madrid, with both sides boasting a record of 12 wins, two draws and one defeat from 15 league games this term.

Barcelona are chasing success in four competitions, as they will also take on Real Betis in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on January 11 ahead of a potential final against Real Madrid or Valencia.

Meanwhile, the La Liga giants will face Manchester United in a two-legged Europa League knockout round playoff next month, with the first leg of the contest set to take place at Camp Nou on February 16.