Atlético Madrid vs Barcelona: 3 key battles ahead of top of the table La Liga clash

The La Liga title race is really heating up. Following Real Madrid's win at Valencia on Saturday night, any of the three contenders could end the weekend top of the pile. Right now, Barcelona and los Blancos both have 30 points on the board, but victory for Atlético Madrid would see them leapfrog both, considering they are just two behind.

This Sunday night clash could be, even at this early stage of the campaign, season-defining, so here are the three key battles that will define it.

Of course, a lot of the spotlight will be on Julián Álvarez. The Argentine striker publicly stated his desire to join Barcelona this summer, with Atleti placing an €150 million price tag on his head, but the Catalan giants opted against spending big. Given how free-scoring they've been, that was the right decision.

Now though, can Álvarez show Barça what they missed out on? Well, Hansi Flick's back line is depleted, considering that Andreas Christensen, Jules Koundé, Eric García and Xavi Espart are all sidelined. So, despite only being 19 years old, Pau Cubarsí will once again be the senior man at the back, set to be partnered by Gerard Martín.

Thus, Cubarsí will be tasked with stopping Álvarez, Alexander Sørloth, Ademola Lookman, Jonathan David and whoever else Diego Simeone deploys in attack.

Ahead of this crucial fixture, Barcelona suffered a major injury blow. Rodri will be denied a meeting with his former club, after suffering a hamstring injury against Aston Villa on Tuesday. Frenkie de Jong is not a bad deputy, but this will merely add extra onus on Pedri's shoulders.

Likely to be up against Marcos Llorente and Pablo Barrios, as always, Barça will be looking to dominate the midfield battle. As we know, Llorente can run all day, so the challenge for Pedri, alongside de Jong and Fermín López, is to make sure he can't get anywhere near the ball.

Lamine Yamal has twice scored at the Metropolitano before, and you would not back against the teenager adding to his 13 goals already this season would you? Well, he will be up against an international team mate, namely fellow World Cup winner Álex Grimaldo.

The 31 year old, who joined Atleti from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, has already netted four times in La Liga for los Colchoneros, more well known for his attacking prowess. However, he will be a key man as they seek to contain Barça's frightening front three of Lamine, Anthony Gordon and Raphinha.