Barca looking to rediscover top form at Atletico

Title-hopeful Barcelona needs to capitalize on a rare lapse by Real Madrid if it is to take full advantage of Valencia’s midweek success against the leader of La Liga.

The Catalan club must prevail at in-form Atletico Madrid on Sunday to step up the pressure on its rival, whose 2-1 defeat at Valencia on Wednesday was only its second of the season.

Real, just one point clear of Barca and three ahead of Sevilla, plays later on Sunday at Villarreal.

Barca, still reeling from the 4-0 defeat at Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League on February 14, was booed last Sunday when it needed a late Lionel Messi penalty to beat struggler Leganes 2-1 in its latest La Liga game.

“We’re not going through our best moment of form,” Barcelona defender Gerard Pique told reporters this week. “We’re focused on finding solutions. “The most important thing is to get back to playing the way we like to play.”

Atletico has had its struggles and is in fourth place, seven points behind Real, but appears to be hitting its stride.

Real’s defeat at a struggling Valencia, however, has given Barca an opportunity to move top of the standings, at least for a few hours.

Real, hoping to capture the La Liga crown for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign, is starting to look vulnerable. It conceded two goals in the opening nine minutes at Valencia – a deficit that Zinedine Zidane’s men could not overcome.

Real has won just one of its last four away games in La Liga and faces a tricky trip to Villarreal, which has lost only twice at home this season.

Third-place Sevilla heads into Saturday’s city derby at Real Betis on the back of Wednesday’s 2-1 home win over Leicester in the Champions League.