Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are looking to put down a marker in their respective title aspirations as the sides meet at Camp Nou for a midweek blockbuster.
Barca sit precariously top of La Liga by a point from second-place Real Madrid after coming from behind to beat Alaves at the weekend for a fourth straight league win.
Fourth-placed Atletico, who won 2-0 at home to Real Oviedo at the weekend, trail Barcelona by three points.
Since losing 4-0 away at Arsenal in October, Atletico have now won seven games in a row in all competitions.
And as Real Madrid were held to a third consecutive La Liga draw in a 1-1 tie at lowly Girona on Sunday, Barcelona and Atletico will hope that they can take advantage of their rivals’ dip in form.
Despite the 3-1 win over Alaves, Barcelona’s boss Hansi Flick appeared close to tears after the game and was consoled by winger Raphinha.
Flick later said he was angered by some of the officiating, including the referee’s decision to red-card two of his staff members during the game.
‘I lacked communication. I asked the fourth official what had happened, and he told me nothing,’ Flick said after the game, saying this was an ‘endemic problem’.
‘We don’t have the control we had at times last season,’ he said. ‘We have to improve, and we can improve many things.’
Raphinha told reporters that ‘Flick believes that we are not playing at our best, and I agree’.
‘Even so, the important thing today was getting the win. We know we are not at our best, but we are working, and I am sure we will get back to playing our best this season,’ he added.
A key player in Barcelona’s domestic title double last season, Raphinha looked like his old incisive self against Alaves in his first start in two months since recovering from a hamstring injury.
He set up two early goals, twice racing in behind the defence on the left side of the area before squaring passes for Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo to score in the eighth and 26th minutes.
Olmo added a third goal in stoppage time when he worked a one-two passing combination with Yamal before firing home.