Fernando Torres is in red-hot form. At least, he is for a man who went an entire half-season without scoring a goal.

Between September 19, when he scored against Eibar at Ipurua, and February 6, when he scored against Eibar at the Vicente Calderon, he could not find the net for love or money.

One of those things will run out at the end of the season, but the other will continue.

Torres is dearly loved by the supporters at Atletico, but until recently, there were not a lot of reasons to offer him a new contract at the end of the season.

His loan at Atletico ends and his deal with AC Milan expires, which will leave him as a free agent.

But things have changed. After his 19-game streak without finding the net, poised on 99 goals for the club, he finally reached a century.

Including that goal, he has gone on to score four in seven league games, becoming Atletico's second-top goalscorer (six goals in all competitions) behind Antoine Griezmann (who has scored 26).

The most recent goal came against Real Betis on Saturday night, exquisitely lofting the ball over the head of Real Betis 'keeper Antonio Adan after being sent through by Koke.

It was Torres' best moment of the match, but overall, this was a fine display by the veteran Spaniard.

He helped set up the second goal by flying past his marker and crossing into the area, a move that ended when Griezmann accidentally put the ball past Adan.

The forward then put another one on a plate for his French strike partner, but a heavy touch allowed the Betis goalkeeper to recover. The pass, however, was inch-perfect.

And in the post-match press conference, Diego Simeone revealed he would start the forward against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night.

"Will Torres play against Barcelona? Yes, he will," said the coach. "I spoke with him before the match. He played 60 minutes against Betis to prepare for the match versus Barcelona."

It is an opportunity Torres deserves for his improvement this year. And arguably, it utilises the squad best too because Angel Correa looks much more dangerous when he comes on from the substitutes' bench instead of starting.

Torres scored against Barcelona when the teams met in La Liga at the start of the season and has come up with some other big goals in his second stint as an Atletico Madrid player.

He also scored against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey last season, showing he has the measure of Luis Enrique’s side.

Barcelona displayed weaknesses against Real Madrid on Saturday, with some of the team looking tired and others less imperious than they were in previous weeks.

Enrique is a hard taskmaster and will be targeting a return to top form when Atletico come calling, but the Rojiblancos will have seen plenty they can exploit.

If Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano can be given a tough time by Griezmann and Torres, then Correa's late entry could be the key to a good result for Atletico.

And another goal against Barcelona could be the next step on Torres' path to getting a new deal with the club of his life.