Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the La Liga clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from Camp Nou. First will welcome second tonight as Atletico head to the division leaders for what should be a fascinating match. Barca currently have an eight-point lead at the top of the table, but a victory for Atletico in this one would certainly blow the title race wide open entering the final stage of the campaign. Stay tuned for live updates!

TEAMS!

BARCA: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Arthur, Busquets, Rakitic; Coutinho, L Suarez, Messi

ATLETI: Oblak; Arias, Gimenez, Godin, Luis; Saul, Rodrigo, Thomas, Koke; Griezmann, Costa

Barca remain without the services of Ousmane Dembele through injury, while Arturo Vidal is suspended for the home side tonight. It is the XI that was expected to take to the field, with Philippe Coutinho joining Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in attack while Arthur is handed a midfield spot. No rest for the key men ahead of the trip to Manchester United next week!

As for Atletico, the big news is that Diego Costa is fit to start after recovering from a muscular injury. It has been a frustrating campaign for Costa, but he features in the final third. Alvaro Morata makes the bench, meanwhile, after initially being ruled out with an ankle injury. It is a strong squad for the visitors, with Thomas Lemar and Lucas Hernandez their only first-team absentees.

KICKOFF:  Barcelona kick things off on home soil...

... wonderful noise inside the stadium tonight and we are all set for a fascinating battle. A win for Barcelona would effectively end the title race, but a victory for Atletico would make things interesting!

Barcelona have made a very fast start to this match, with Atletico having to defend inside the first 30 seconds and for the next couple of minutes as well. The hosts mean business here.

SHOT!  Barcelona have won 93 of the 208 meetings between the two teams in all competitions, with Atletico recording 65 victories and the remaining 50 games finishing level. Barcelona have dominated the recent La Liga matches, meanwhile, and are unbeaten in Spain's top flight against Atletico since February 2010. Will that run be extended or indeed end tonight? Gimenez has just had a shot for the away side from distance, but it landed in the stands!

Atletico's last away victory over Barcelona in the league came back in February 2006, but the pair played out a 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Still goalless here with eight minutes played, but the home side have been on top.

Diego Costa has just left one on Lenglet; the home supporters want a yellow card, but the referee just has a little word with the striker, who is no stranger to the odd bit of controversy.

CLOSE!  Costa misses the crossbar with a header from a Luis cross.

SHOT!  Coutinho sees his long-range strike deflected wide of the Atletico post.

It did appear that Barcelona were going to lose against Villarreal on Wednesday night. Indeed, Ernesto Valverde's side trailed 4-2 heading into the final moments of the clash at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Lionel Messi came up with a stunning free kick in the 90th minute for 4-3, however, before Luis Suarez struck in the third minute of added time to ensure that the champions would pick up a welcome point. Will the champions return to winning ways tonight? Another draw wouldn't be the end of the world.

It is a huge period of the season for Barcelona when considering that they host Atletico before visiting Manchester United next Wednesday for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Valverde's side will then head to Huesca before hosting United on April 16 for the second leg of their last-eight tie. The squad will have to be managed over the next few weeks.

OFF THE POST!  Messi finds Alba with a wonderful pass and the left-back manages to beat Oblak, but the post comes to Atletico's rescue! Atletico are really, really fortunate to still be level.

The treble is very much on for Barcelona as they will also face Valencia in the final of the Copa del Rey at the end of next month. Victory over Atletico tonight would all but secure the league title and they will be the favourites to lift the Spanish Cup once again. It must be said that the first 17 minutes of this match have flown past and we are still goalless at Camp Nou.

It goes without saying that Barcelona's squad is packed full of talent, but they would not be in such a strong position this season without Messi. The 31-year-old scored his 42nd goal of the campaign against Villarreal on Wednesday night and his form in recent months has been so good. Atletico are currently enjoying a good spell with 19 minutes on the clock.

SHOT!  Luis Suarez sees a powerful volley fly over the Atletico crossbar.

SAVE!  Ter Stegen has to drop low to keep out a strike from Griezmann!

A record of 21 wins, seven draws and two defeats from 30 league matches this season represents a strong campaign. Barcelona have won 11 and lost just one of their 14 home fixtures, meanwhile, and their recent league record over Atletico is outstanding. Still 0-0 here.

Barcelona have a free kick just outside the box as Rodrigo fells Messi...

SHOT!  ... Messi sees his free kick from distance just miss the Atletico goal!

Atletico have faced criticism this season, particularly for their performance in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie with Juventus last month. Diego Simeone's side entered the clash with a two-goal lead from the first leg, but were completely outplayed in a 3-0 loss in Turin. Their league form, though, has been impressive during the 2018-19 campaign.

Indeed, a total of 62 points from their 30 matches has left them in second spot in the table, eight points off Barca ahead of kickoff. Atletico will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 win over Girona on Tuesday night, which was their 18th league victory of the campaign.

YELLOW CARD!  Thomas (Atletico) is booked for a foul on Rakitic.

SAVE!  Wonderful save from Oblak to keep out a low strike from Coutinho!

RED CARD!  DIEGO COSTA!

YELLOW CARD!  Gimenez (Atletico) is also booked for dissent!

Wow, Diego Costa has been handed a straight red card!

There was no challenge or anything. It must have been something that Costa said to the referee? The Spain international put his face very close to the referee and something was obviously said. It is a huge moment in this football match and Atletico are now in his trouble.

It is a real shame in terms of the match as Atletico were causing a lot of problems. It does appear that Simeone will be making a change as Correa receives his instructions here.

ATLETICO SUB! Correa replaces Arias for the away side.

Arias has just stepped back on the field and Rodrigo might well need to come off now.

ATLETICO SUB! Correa for Rodrigo is actually the change. That was strange.

Oh my goodness me. Now Arias walks off and Rodrigo goes back on. So the change is Correa for Arias. That was a lot more complicated than it should have been!

There is a really strange atmosphere inside the stadium at the moment, with Barcelona not offering too much despite playing against 10 men. It is a real shame for the neutral fan.

Atletico's last away victory over Barca in the league came back in February 2006, but the pair played out a 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Simeone's side would certainly take another 1-1 at the moment as they are down to 10 men.

CHANCE!  Godin sends Luis Suarez through on goal, but the striker cannot take advantage and Godin is ultimately back to make up for his mistake. This is a very strange game at the moment.

Nothing much happening at the moment with Atletico almost locking down ahead of the half-time break. Oh to be a fly on the wall of the Atletico dressing room at the interval!

Luis Suarez sends a pass through towards Coutinho, but the Brazilian cannot reach it and Oblak takes an absolute age from the resulting goal kick. Still goalless at Camp Nou.

SAVE!  Smart save from Oblak to keep out a strike from Messi.

We are into the first of three additional minutes at the end of the first period.

Loads of pressure from Barcelona at the moment, but Atletico are holding firm at the back. The visitors are doing nothing but defending in the final stages of the first period here.

SAVE!  Oblak keeps out a header from Coutinho and that should be that for this first period.

HALF TIME:  BARCELONA 0-0 ATLETICO MADRID

So there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with the two teams level at 0-0. That does not tell the story, though, with Diego Costa incredibly sent off for Atletico in the 28th minute following an altercation with the referee. Oh Diego, he's done it again.

STATISTICS! Barcelona had 64% possession in the first half, registering three shots on target from nine attempts. Atletico, meanwhile, had four attempts, but just one was on target. As well as Costa's red card, Atletico also have three bookings through Thomas, Gimenez and Godin.

BENCH WATCH! Barcelona have the likes of Alena, Boateng and Malcom on their bench tonight. Atletico, meanwhile, have already made a change with Correa replacing Arias. Kalinic, Morata and Vitolo, though, are amongst those still available for the visitors to Camp Nou.

KICKOFF:  Atletico resume the action here...

... no changes from either side at the break, which is not much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will have alterations in mind as the second period develops here.

Atletico have the chance to threaten from their first corner of the second period, but Rakitic does well to make the clearance. Good intent from the away side since the restart here.

Barcelona put together a series of passes, but it comes to nothing as Atletico sit deep before pouncing to clear through Thomas, who leaves one on Barcelona full-back Alba.

Saul attempts to run away from Pique after breaking forward, but Pique does well to make the challenge and Barcelona are back on the attack with 53 minutes on the clock here.

SHOT!  Busqués fires harmlessly over the Atletico crossbar from distance.

Barcelona do seem to be playing within themselves at the moment, which is not too much of a surprise when considering that they have Man United in the Champions League next week.

Talking of Man United, their head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in the stands tonight. The Norwegian will not be too worried based on what he has seen thus far in this match anyway!

Good football from Atletico in the last few minutes, with the visitors threatening in the final third of the field. Which team has 10 men? It is difficult to tell at the moment!

SAVE!  Oblak is on hand to keep out a strike from Messi.

ATLETICO SUB! Luis is replaced by Morata for the away side.

You do get the feeling that there is a goal in this match, at least one. Atletico are very much on the front foot at the moment with Barcelona struggling to get going here.

SHOT!  Messi has a shot deflected into the arms of Oblak.

SAVE!  Super save from Oblak to keep out a strike from Luis Suarez, who had been found by Messi inside the box. Wonderful goalkeeping from the Atletico stopper once again!

BARCELONA SUB! Malcom replaces Arthur for the home side.

SAVE!  More good work from Oblak to keep out another strike from Messi.

Barca are very much on the front foot at the moment as we enter the final 25 minutes of what has been a very interesting game of football. Is there a winner in this one?

Atletico have a free kick in a dangerous area as Pique fells Correa...

SAVE!  ... Ter Stegen keeps out a powerful free kick from Griezmann.

SAVE!  Two more saves from Oblak to deny Messi and Malcom in quick succession!

YELLOW CARD!  Saul (Atletico) is booked for a late challenge on Roberto.

YELLOW CARD!  Pique (Barcelona) is booked for dissent after conceding a free kick.

CLOSE!  Little over 15 minutes of the second period remaining and it has been a brilliant performance from Atletico. Rodrigo has just met a free kick from Griezmann, but it went wide!

Atletico deserve huge credit for their performance tonight - it has been excellent.

Little over 10 minutes of the second period remaining and it would probably be fair to say that a goal at this stage wins it. It would be very harsh on Atletico if Barcelona netted here.

YELLOW CARD!  Lenglet (Barcelona) is booked for a foul on Thomas.

BARCELONA SUB! Alena replaces Coutinho for the home side.

More good work from Atletico, but Saul's low cross is cleared by Pique. The visitors are committing four, five players forward each time that they gave the chance here.

Barca are preparing to make their third change as Semedo receives his instructions.

BARCELONA SUB! Semedo replaces Roberto for the home side.

GOAL!  BARCELONA 1-0 ATLETICO MADRID (LUIS SUAREZ)

Oh my goodness me. Huge, huge moment. Barcelona take the lead in the 85th minute as Luis Suarez finds space outside the box before curling a low attempt into the bottom corner.

GOAL!  BARCELONA 2-0 ATLETICO MADRID (MESSI)

And there is the second! Messi drives into the Atletico box before incredibly picking out the bottom corner in the calmest of fashions! Some finish from the Argentine!

ATLETICO SUB! Juanfran replaces Rodri for the away side.

We are into the first of two additional minutes at the end of the match.

FULL TIME:  BARCELONA 2-0 ATLETICO MADRID

So there we have it. The referee brings the second period to a close with Barcelona running out 2-0 winners over 10-men Atletico courtesy of late goals from Luis Suarez and Messi. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for our live coverage once again. Until next time!