LaLiga: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona preview

The Spanish top flight returns to action after the international break with a major clash at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Saturday as Atletico Madrid take on leaders Barcelona. Last season Barcelona snatched a 1-1 draw in this fixture thanks to a late goal from Luis Suarez after Saul had opened the scoring for the home side. Barca did win the reverse fixture at Camp Nou, it ended 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lionel Messi. Overall, Barcelona won three of the last six direct matches in all competitions and drew the other three. Atletico have not won a league match against Barcelona since 2010. Atletico Madrid are hoping to leapfrog Barcelona at the top of the table on Saturday evening, they are just one point behind the leaders. The situation is quite uncertain in LaLiga this season, all the big teams are failing quite often and are dropping several points. Atletico have won just six of their twelve league matches so far, lost just one and drew the other five, but still find themselves in third spot. They are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, including the 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao just before the international break. Diego Godin is injured and won't make the squad for Saturday's game, while fellow central defender Jose Maria Gimenez is a fitness doubt for head coach Diego Simeone. Barcelona have also been dropping points unexpectedly this season, they have lost two of their twelve league matches so far and were held to draws on three occasions. The latest defeat was just before the international break, they lost 4-3 at home against Betis in a match that saw Ivan Rakitic getting sent off and Lionel Messi scoring twice. Rakitic will be suspended for Saturday's game, while Thomas Vermaelen and Sergi Samper are injured. Lionel Messi is fit and ready to play, though, while defender Samuel Umtiti should also be available after a slight knee injury. Probable line-ups: Atletico: Oblak - Juanfran, Savic, Hernandez, Luis - Koke, Rodrigo, Niguez, Lemar - Costa, Griezmann Barcelona: Ter Stegen - Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba - Vidal, Busquets, Arthur - Messi, Suarez, Coutinho My prediction: 1-1 draw, Barcelona don't seem capable of beating a solid side like Atletico these days. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Atletico win - 3.10 Draw - 3.30 Barcelona win - 2.37