Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke has refused to play down the importance of Saturday's La Liga clash with Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon.

Atletico welcome the Spanish champions to Madrid with the two sides level on points at the top of La Liga after 18 matches of the season.

The home side will enter the match boasting a perfect record in the league at the Vicente Calderon this season - winning all nine of their matches, scoring 33 times in the process and conceding just six.

"We know that this is a super important game, because it's the top two teams playing, but in the end it's another game, there's still the second half of the season to go yet, but there's no doubting that this is an important game," he told reporters at a press conference.

The Spanish international is reportedly a transfer target for Manchester United, but it is understood that Atletico are not prepared to sanction a move at this stage of the season.