Diego Simeone has urged his Atletico Madrid players to embrace the challenge of facing Barcelona on Tuesday night, after offering sympathy to Hansi Flick following the Barcelona manager's emotional moment with Raphinha at the weekend.
Barcelona defeated Alaves 3-1 at the revamped Camp Nou on Saturday whilst Atletico beat Oviedo 2-0 to maintain the pressure on Real Madrid who play on Sunday.
Barcelona were preparing to unleash Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski from the start as Hansi Flick planned a decisive reshuffle for this afternoon's clash with Deportivo Alaves.
Barcelona's difficult season took another hit this week after Fermin Lopez suffered a calf injury that will rule him out for around two weeks, according to reports in Spain.
Wojciech Szczesny has admitted he "had enough of this suffering" after years of battling the lingering effects of the double-arm fracture that changed his career, with the Barcelona goalkeeper revealing how the pain still affects him today.
Chelsea produced a clinical performance to beat Barcelona 3-0 in their UEFA Champions League fixture at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.