FC Barcelona (1st, 34pts) vs Club Atlético de Madrid (4th, 31pts)
Competition/Round: 2025-26 La Liga, Matchday 19
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc-André ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Gavi, Fermín López (out)
Atlético Outs & Doubts: Marcos Llorente (out), Robin Le Normand (doubt)
Date/Time: Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Wednesday)
Venue: Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Ricardo De Burgoes Bengoetxea
VAR: Pablo González Fuertes
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Premier Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar (Spain), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports Player (UK), FanCode (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Following a hard-fought win over Deportivo Alavés at the weekend to take sole possession of first place in the La Liga table, Barcelona return to action for a third consecutive game at the Greatest Stadium on Earth as the Blaugrana welcome rivals Atlético Madrid for a monster clash on Tuesday Night Fútbol.
This game was originally scheduled for Matchday 19 but has been brought forward due to the two teams’ participation in the Spanish Super Cup, which is why Athletic Club and Real Madrid, the other two Supercopa contestants, face off on Wednesday at San Mamés.
Barça come into this one with a one-point lead at the top of the standings thanks to yet another Real Madrid draw on the road, with Los Blancos quickly wasting their five-point advantage since winning El Clásico five weeks ago. The two biggest teams in Spain haven’t been consistent at all this season, and both Atlético and Villarreal are standing close by to pounce and turn the title race into a very fun contest over the next few weeks and months.
The Blaugrana face both Atleti and Villarreal before the end of 2025, and beating both would send a big message that even a vulnerable, inconsistent Barça side are still the team to beat in La Liga. Atlético is the first test, and this is definitely the worst time to be facing Diego Simeone’s team this season.
After a very slow start to the campaign which came as a big surprise given the amount of investment they made in the summer to sign some very interesting players in all positions, Atlético have found their groove and arrive at Camp Nou riding a seven-game winning streak in all competitions. Many of the seven games have been close and needed some late drama for the Colchoneros to pull off victories, but they are looking strong and full of belief ahead of the biggest game of their season so far.
The new signings are starting to look more comfortable in Simeone’s system, and do-it-all defender Dávid Hancko and Spain international attacking midfielder Álex Baena have been the most impressive of the new faces so far. Pablo Barrios is making a big leap in midfield, José Giménez has once again become a crucial piece at the back, Antoine Griezmann is still Griezmann-ing around, and Julián Alvarez is a true superstar.
Simeone tried a back five in the victory over Oviedo at the weekend, but he’s more likely to go with the tried-and-true 4-4-2 in this one. The Griezmann-Alvarez front two gave Barça hell last season and will probably start together at Camp Nou, even though Alexander Sorloth always scores against the Blaugrana and is coming off a brace on Saturday.
These two teams played four fantastic games last season filled with incredible twists and turns and a whole lot of entertainment, and the two matches in Catalonia were especially nuts. Barça’s defense has been vulnerable this season and Atleti cracked the code on their backline better than almost any team last year, and they’ll be even better prepared to cause more problems this time around.
Barça will likely have their all-star front six from last season starting together for the first time in this campaign, with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri reuniting in midfield and Dani Olmo playing in behind the attacking trio of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. If those six all play to their potential and Barça finish their chances, there will be a lot less pressure on the back four. The biggest problem against Alavés wasn’t the high line or the offside trap: it was the high number of silly mistakes in possession that created turnovers in bad positions and allowed Alavés to counter in numbers.
Hansi Flick’s system doesn’t work without elite control of the ball and great pressing up front, and the return of the Frenkie-Pedri double pivot and Raphinha’s insane energy out of possession could help Barça regain some of last season’s magic in this one and start to turn things around in the middle of a poor run of performances, even if the results are mostly good domestically.
This is a true heavyweight clash, and a Barça win would put massive pressure on Madrid ahead of a very tough trip to San Mamés on Wednesday. Three points are a must, especially against a direct title rival in red-hot form, but it would also be nice to see Barça look like Barça again.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Joan; Kounde, Cubarsí, Eric, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Atlético (4-4-2): Oblak; Molina, Giménez, Lenglet, Hancko; Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Baena; Griezmann, Alvarez
PREDICTION
Barça and Atlético played four amazing games last season with all kinds of twists and turns, and given Barça’s defensive issues and Atleti’s hot streak I expect another high-scoring game with loads of chances for both sides. My head says this will be a draw, but my heart feels that Raphinha and Pedri will put on a show to lead us to a huge result at home: 3-2 Barça.
