Atletico and their French maestro go up against the La Liga leaders on Sunday and will arrive brimming with confidence after subjecting Leganes to a 4-0 demolition, with Griezmann again the star of the show.
His quadruple, fired off in 32 minutes either side of half-time, means he now has seven goals in two games following last weekend's treble against Sevilla, and 12 in his last nine. For comparison, Lionel Messi has hit five goals in the same period.
But Griezmann will be the player in focus before the weekend, his form handed extra pertinence given Barca were forced last month to deny they had already struck a deal to sign the 26-year-old.
"I've never scored at Camp Nou. I want to score and to celebrate," Griezmann said. "I want to do something big with my club and my opportunity."
After Zinedine Zidane paid the price for resting Cristiano Ronaldo in Real's defeat to Espanyol on Tuesday, Diego Simeone chose not to preserve his own stars as Griezmann, Diego Costa and Angel Correa all started.
Leganes almost took an early lead when Gerard Gumbau's long-range effort crashed against the crossbar and Griezmann would have been off the mark sooner had his bending free-kick not also struck the woodwork. But the forward did not have long to wait.
In the 25th minute, a defence splitting pass from Koke set Griezmann away and, after shrugging off the scrambling Gumbau, he slid the ball past Ivan Cuellar.
Ten minutes later Griezmann was celebrating his second. Again he had Koke to thank, the midfielder winning the foul after a brilliant flick on the edge of the area and this time Griezmann dispatched the free-kick with a curling shot into the corner.
After nonchalantly allowing Costa's pass to run through his legs and reach Filipe Luis, Griezmann darted into the box, jumped high and met the full-back's cross with a bullet header into the net.
If his first three goals demonstrated speed, technique and movement, Griezmann's fourth owed much to a slice of luck, a mishit finish from Costa's cross.
He could even have had a fifth late on, only for an offside flag to spare the weary Leganes further humiliation.
Despite Griezmann's sparkling individual display, Simeone emphasised the work of his providers.
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