Hansi Flick said the time has come for Barcelona to lay down a marker by beating another of LaLiga's standout teams, ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Atletico Madrid.

Atletico travel to Camp Nou on Tuesday with just three points separating the teams in the LaLiga standings.

Barca are top with 34 points from 14 games, having overcome Alaves 3-1 on Saturday. Real Madrid are second with Villarreal in third, and Simeone's side round out the top four.

Flick's team were beaten 2-1 by their Clasico rivals in October, and have also finished on the losing side against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the Champions League this season.

The head coach believes a win over a European heavyweight would help his side build some positive momentum.

"It would be a good time to win our first game against one of the top teams," he said. "We have to play at our highest level. They are one of the best teams in Europe. 

"And they increased their quality with the signings they made in the summer market. They are a fantastic team in defence and attack. I like to watch them play. 

"But we have quality, and we have to show it. We know that we are playing against a fantastic team, with a great coach. 

"I'm happy, we can recover our best level. The other day, we made a lot of mistakes. We have the quality to control the game better, and we have to raise our level."

Atleti are LaLiga's form team after winning six straight matches, culminating in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Real Oviedo, with Alexander Sorloth scoring twice.

Asked about Flick's lofty praise for his side, Simeone said: "I never give my opinion on what others think, everyone has their thoughts. 

"We continue to work on improving as a team. The margin for improvement is much more than what we have already shown."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Barcelona – Ferran Torres

Torres has scored three goals in eight LaLiga appearances against Atletico, only netting more against Real Betis (five) in his career in the competition.

He has also netted three times against Elche, Mallorca, Athletic Club and Osasuna.

Atletico Madrid – Alexander Sorloth 

Sorloth has scored on each of his last five LaLiga appearances against Barcelona (five goals).

The Norwegian is the only player to score in five successive games against the Blaugrana in the competition this century.

MATCH PREDICTION – BARCELONA WIN

Barcelona have won 13 of their last 18 home games against Atletico in LaLiga (D4 L1) though they lost the most recent one (2-1 in December 2024). 

They have not suffered consecutive home defeats against the Rojiblancos in the competition since doing so between 2005 and 2006, under Frank Rijkaard.

After beating Real Madrid on matchday two (5-2), Atletico have the chance to beat both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the same LaLiga campaign for the second time this century, having last done so in 2021-22.

Los Colchoneros have also won their last six LaLiga matches, including their last two away from home without conceding a goal.

They could record three consecutive away wins without conceding in the competition for the second time since the 2018-19 season, having last done so in May 2024 (W3).

But Robert Lewandowski could be the chief threat to that record. The Barca forward has scored the opening goal in a LaLiga game 24 times since his arrival in the competition in 2022-23 – the joint-most of any player in that time alongside Ante Budimir.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Barcelona – 50.2%

Atletico Madrid – 26.9%

Draw – 22.9%