Koke set to start against Barcelona and close in on Messi and Xavi's appearance records

Koke returns to captain Atlético Madrid against Barcelona after recovering from injury, set to make his 751st appearance for the club.

Jorge Resurrección Koke is poised to start for Atlético Madrid in their La Liga clash with Barcelona after overcoming an injury that sidelined him for five matches. The captain came off the bench for 31 minutes in the Champions League before Simeone deployed him as a starter in a double pivot alongside Pablo Barrios against Bayern.

Koke's appearance will mark his 751st game in all competitions for Atlético Madrid. He is now the third Spanish footballer to reach 750 matches with a single club, behind only Xavi Hernández (767) and Lionel Messi (778). The Barcelona fixture offers him the chance to close the gap on both legends.

Fittingly, Koke's Atlético career began against Barcelona on 19 September 2009, when he came on as a substitute in the final 19 minutes of a 5–2 defeat at Camp Nou. As a youngster, he admired Barcelona's midfielders Xavi, Iniesta and Fábregas, though his primary idol was Juninho, the former Atlético player.