Diego Simeone will not change gameplan for Barca showdown

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has no special plans for Saturday's La Liga title showdown with Barcelona.

The Argentine's league leaders visit the Camp Nou two points ahead of the Catalans and a win would all but rule Barca out of the title running with three games remaining.

Real Madrid, who take on fourth-placed Sevilla on Sunday, also sit two points behind Atletico and could be the main beneficiaries if the meeting ends in a stalemate.

Simeone, however, insisted he would not change his usual set-up for a more attacking one.

"We're playing with a really clear idea this season as you can see," he told a news conference on Friday.

"Sometimes it's gone really well and sometimes it hasn't. We don't change a lot. We'll try and play using the good points of how we've been playing up to now.

"They (Barca) are a side who have won a lot of points on the spin, they play good football and have done a great job in recovering from a slow first half of the season.

"We'll look to take the game in the direction we want it to go in and play our own game."

Simeone has a fully fit squad, with defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Renan Lodi returning to full training on Friday.

The Argentine has never won as a coach at the Camp Nou, however he did secure a maiden La Liga victory against Barca earlier this season when the sides met in Madrid.

The same result on Saturday could help to secure a first title for the Rojiblancos since 2014.

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