Barcelona and Atlético looking to conserve their lead

FC Barcelona and Club Atlético de Madrid will play their third matches in the UEFA Champions League group phase on Tuesday. Both sides will look for their third consecutive win in continental competition after their domestic winning streaks came to an end in the ninth round of Liga BBVA matches.

Gerardo Martino’s Catalan outfit face a difficult trip to Italy where they will take on Group H rivals AC Milan in what has become a common fixture in the Champions League over recent seasons. The sides have met seven times at San Siro, with Barcelona coming away victorious on three occasions. Martino, who is without the injured Jordi Alba, is able to pick Carles Puyol for the first time in Europe this season after the defender made his comeback from injury against CA Osasuna in Liga BBVA on Saturday.

For their part, Atlético look for their third consecutive victory in Europe’s premier club competition in the city of Vienna, where they will meet FK Austria Wien in Group G. The Red and Whites have a full compliment of players to pick from for the trip to Austria, including Diego Costa, who took a knock in the match against RCD Espanyol at the weekend. If both Spanish sides can take the three points on offer, they’ll be in a very healthy situation to make it through to the round of 16 having taken nine points from the nine available.