FC Barcelona host Atletico Madrid in the first ‘big’ game of the La Liga season on Wednesday night.

It is a fixture the Catalans have dominated in recent years, having not lost to their rivals despite the capital club enjoying a resurgence which has made many of Europe&’s elite sit up and take notice.

Despite history being stacked in their favour, Barcelona know Atletico are among the most dangerous sides in Europe, and this game will be a closely fought one.

Both sides are under pressure to win, as Real Madrid are already three points and four points ahead of Barcelona and Atletico respectively, in the league table.

Either way, two distinct styles of football will go head-to-head, with Barca favouring an expressive, pleasing style of football, while their opponents Atletico are well known for their sharp, rapier like counter-attacks.

Barcelona

The Blaugrana  have had a solid start to their season, winning the Spanish Super Cup and winning all but one of their games so far.

That one game, a loss to newly-promoted Leganes will rankle manager Luis Enrique to no end, for despite a heavily rotated starting XI, they had enough quality to complete a routine home win.

Since then, striker Luis Suarez and talisman Lionel Messi have plundered goals, and Barcelona look the dominant force that dominates world football yet again.

Enrique is likely to continue with a 4-3-3 formation, with an imposing Marc-André per Stegen in goal, coupled with the likes of Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti forming an impressive defence.

Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto are the full-backs that are being preferred by Enrique, and Alba in particular is quite dangerous on the overlap.

It is the Barca midfield which doesn’t get enough credit, as Sergio Busquets is arguably the best shield in the world football, while Ivan Rakitic scores crucial goals from time to time. Andres Iniesta will look to release the best forward line in the world, comprising of Suarez, Messi and Neymar.

The envy of the world, ‘MSN’ are on song yet again. Atletico better watch out as this Barca side have no injuries or suspensions.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico have made a slow start to the season. But in recent games, they have picked up some serious momentum, having thrashed Sporting Gijon and Celta Vigo in back-to-back games.

A major blow, however, has come in the news that Manager Diego Simeone has reduced his contract by two years from 2020 previously to 2018. Simeone is the main reason for the club&’s success in recent years, as they shook up the duopoly of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The Rojiblancos made some serious acquisitions in the summer, while holding on to star players, in a departure from a trend which saw them lose their brightest talents year after year.

Simeone prefers an extremely compact 4-4-2 formation, with Jan Oblak, Diego Godin, the main reasons for their miserly defence. Felipe Luis and Juanfran are expected to start as the full-backs who are defensively solid and quite handy in attack.

In midfield, Saul Niguez and Koke are certain starters, as the young Spaniards continue to grow with each game. Gabi, Yannick Carrasco and Nicolas Gaitan are expected to fight it out for the remaining spots.

Upfront, Atletico may finally have a man who can take the load off Antoine Griezmann&’s shoulders, as Kevin Gameiro is beginning to show real promise. The two have sensational pace and a commendable work-rate which makes them the perfect strikers for a counter-attacking team like Atletico.

The capital side have a couple of injury complaints. Tiago Mendes, Alesso Cerci and Miguel Angel Moya have confirmed to miss out.

Super Stat: Barcelona are unbeaten Atletico in the 15 meetings between the two sides, with their last loss having come on February 5, 2006. Since then, the Catalans have won 11 and drawn 4.