Barcelona, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona will be eager to return to the win column on Sunday at the Camp Nou against Atletico Madrid in a top- three clash with Barca boss Luis Enrique coming under fire this week.
The Catalan side opened 2015 with a disappointing 1-0 defeat in the league to Real Sociedad, which was followed by a 5-0 thrashing of Elche in the Copa del Rey in midweek.
Yet that result did little to ease the pressure on Enrique, who is believed to be the main reason for stories surfacing about the potential departure of star forward Lionel Messi.
It has been reported that Messi is unhappy with the current coaching situation, and unless Enrique is able to produce results on a consistent basis, he could find himself in danger of losing his job.
Despite all the unrest surrounding the team, Barca still enters the weekend just one point adrift of leaders Real Madrid and level on 38 points with Atletico.
The visitors will have fond memories of their last league meeting at Barca as it took place last May and ended in a 1-1 draw on the final day of the season, allowing Atletico to clinch their first league title since 1996.
Diego Simeone's side has once again remained firmly in the title picture this season and has gotten off to a great start in 2015 by recording a 3-1 win over Levante in the league to pull level with Barcelona, while a 2-0 first-leg victory against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey followed on Wednesday.
The club also welcomed back a fan favorite in forward Fernando Torres, who joined Atletico on an 18-month loan spell from AC Milan last week.
Torres made his debut against Real on Wednesday and played 60 minutes before being withdrawn, and he should be in contention for a place in the side on Sunday.
Real Madrid's fantastic form took a dip over the past week as the club lost for the first time in 23 games at Valencia last weekend before losing 2-0 to Atletico in the Copa del Rey.
Carlo Ancelotti's team will now try to get back to winning ways on Saturday when the team hosts Espanyol, which has lost its last two games.
Valencia will be boosted by its upset over Real and the fourth-place side attempts to keep that momentum with a win at Celta Vigo, while Malaga hosts Villarreal in a battle of top-seven sides.
Eibar has been one of the surprise packages in La Liga this season, entering the weekend in eighth place, and the club meets up with a Getafe side that is winless in its last seven league outings.
Sevilla is only one point from a Champions League place and will travel to 15th-place Almeria on Sunday, Real Sociedad tries to build on its win over Barcelona with three more points at second-from-the-bottom Granada, while relegation-battling Cordoba travels to Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Friday's match saw Levante and Deportivo play to a 0-0 draw, moving the bottom-half sides just a bit further from the bottom three.
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