Barcelona travel to Spain’s capital to face Atlético Madrid on Thursday for the first leg of a mouthwatering Copa del Rey semifinal tie.
For the second season in a row, Barcelona must overcome Diego Simeone’s side in their last hurdle before the final. In a vibrant tie this time last year, Flick’s men defeated Atléti 5–4 on aggregate to advance to the final and eventually conquer their 32nd Copa del Rey title.
The Catalans now arrive to the semifinal as the most in-form team in Spain. Flick’s men have lost just one of their last 18 games, defeated Real Madrid slayers Albacete a week ago to qualify to the semifinal and are coming off a dominant 3–0 win against Mallorca at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Atléti have been inconsistent all season and their results over the past week reflect just that. Simeone’s side defeated Real Betis 5–0 to advance to the semifinal and then lost 1–0 to that same opponent over the weekend in La Liga.
Regardless off the recent form, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid have delivered absolute spectacles in recent meetings, and Thursday’s first leg has the potential of living up to those standards.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the Copa del Rey semifinal clash.
What Time Does Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona Kick Off?
- Location: Madrid, Spain
- Stadium: Riyadh Air Metropolitano
- Date: Thursday, Feb. 12
- Kick-off Time: 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. GMT
Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
- Atlético Madrid: 1 wins
- Barcelona: 3 wins
- Draws: 1
Current Form (All Competitions)
| Atlético Madrid (LWDLW) | Barcelona (WWWWW) |
|---|---|
| Atlético Madrid 0–1 Real Betis | Barcelona 3–0 Mallorca |
| Real Betis 0–5 Atlético Madrid | Albacete 1–2 Barcelona |
| Levante 0–0 Atlético Madrid | Elche 1–3 Barcelona |
| Atlético Madrid 1–2 Bodø/Glimt | Barcelona 4–1 Copenhagen |
| Atlético Madrid 3–0 Mallorca | Barcelona 3–0 Real Oviedo |
How to Watch Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona on TV, Live Stream
| Country | TV/Live Stream |
|---|---|
| United States | ESPN Select, fuboTV, ESPN App |
| United Kingdom | ITV4, ITVX |
| Mexico | Sky Sports Mexico, Sky+ |
Atlético Madrid Team News
Simeone will have to work around major fitness issues in his midfield. Pablo Barrios will miss the clash through a muscular injury, and U.S. men’s national team player Johnny Cardoso remains a major doubt to be ready in time for Barcelona’s visit.
Veteran captain Koke is expected to start in midfield, likely partnered by winter signing Rodrigo Mendoza, though, fellow winter signing and Mexico national team youngster Obed Vargas could also get the nod.
Elsewhere, Juan Musso has served as Atléti’s starting goalkeeper in the Copa del Rey and he’s expected to keep his place over Jan Oblak. The physical duo of Dávid Hancko and José María Giménez are poised to command the backline for the hosts.
Up front, Julián Álvarez will be eager to end a goal drought that just eclipsed the two-month mark, and he could be partnered by Atléti’s new attacking reinforcement Ademola Lookman.
Atlético Madrid Predicted Lineup vs. Barcelona
Atlético Madrid predicted lineup vs. Barcelona (4-4-2): Musso; Llorente, Giménez, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Koke, Mendoza, Baena; Álvarez, Lookman.
Barcelona Team News
Flick will likely trot out his most competitive lineup, but Barcelona continue to be missing two key players in Pedri and Raphinha, with the latter’s absence being perhaps more significant because of another injury casualty.
Marcus Rashford suffered a knock in Barça’s weekend victory against Mallorca and will miss the clash with Atléti for precautionary reasons. Ferran Torres is a likely candidate to operate on the left wing, a position he frequently played earlier in his career before Flick reconverted him into a center forward.
Frenkie de Jong got the day off in Barça’s victory vs. Mallorca and he’ll return to anchor the midfield, with Dani Olmo and Fermín López alongside him. However, López is another player Flick could play out wide on the left and, in this scenario, Marc Bernal or Marc Casado could also get the nod to play a deeper role in midfield.
Defensively, Flick appears to have settled for Pau Cubarsí and Eric García as his preferred center back partnership, with the starting duo of fullbacks also expected to remain unchanged.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Atlético Madrid
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Atlético Madrid (4-3-3): García; Koundé, Cubarsí, García, Balde; López, De Jong, Olmo; Yamal, Lewandowski, Torres.
Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona Score Prediction
Atlético’s counter-attacking nature has given Flick’s backline problems dating back to last year, resulting in some thrilling contests between the two sides. Playing at home, expect Atléti to try and pounce early with the speed of Álex Baena and Giuliano Simeone down the wings.
But Barcelona have also found plenty of avenues to harm Atléti’s defense in recent memory. Plus, they enter the match having scored 15 goals in their last five games.
Both teams will land punches in what could be a very entertaining clash, but in the end, spoils will be shared and the semifinal tie will be decided in the return leg at the Camp Nou in March.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona: Preview, Predictions and Lineups.
