Title showdown at the Vicente Calderón

The Vicente Calderón will host a passionate duel on matchday 37 in the Liga BBVA between Atlético Madrid, last year’s champions, and current league leaders FC Barcelona. It will be a key game for both sides, as the rojiblancos could seal third place with a victory, while the Catalans will clinch a 23rd Liga BBVA title if they win the match. However, even a draw could be enough to send the title back to Barcelona, as long as Real Madrid fail to beat Espanyol.

Team news

The Madrid side will be without Tiago Mendes through suspension. Barcelona meanwhile travel to the Spanish capital with all their players available, including Luis Suárez, who is not yet 100 percent fit, and Luis Enrique will wait until the day of the game to decide whether or not the Uruguayan plays.

View from the dugouts

Atlético coach Diego Pablo Simeone explained how his side are preparing for the match: “There’s no need to think, we just need to play, to fight for every ball and every blade of grass as if it were the last match.”Atlético and Barcelona played out a title decider at the Camp Nou 365 days before this match, and destiny has offered the Catalans a shot at revenge. “Our objective is to get to the place where we wanted to be at the start of the season, third position,”added Simeone.

Luis Enrique meanwhile is on the verge of picking up his first league title as coach of Barcelona. He said: “Our team will play as if we had no points advantage over Madrid. Last year they [Atlético] won the league at the Camp Nou and now we have the chance to win the league at the home of the reigning champions. I predict an open, interesting game with a lot at stake.”