Atlético de Madrid will visit Estadio La Cartuja in Seville on Thursday for a Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Real Betis. The match will start at 9:00 p.m. local time, and it will be the last quarterfinal to kick off in this year’s cup.
Los Rojiblancos find themselves at arguably their lowest point of the current campaign. Atlético are 10 points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona, and they will have to play a Champions League play-off tie against Club Brugge in a couple weeks just to stay in the competition.
It is normal to feel uneasy entering this pressure-packed Copa del Rey match, as the domestic cup is realistically Atleti’s best shot at silverware this season. But can anyone confidently guarantee that Atleti are capable of securing a result away from home at this stage of the season?
Looking at the situation through a more positive lens, this is historically the point at which Simeone has managed to turn things around. This moment could serve as the catalyst for a deep run in the Copa. The competition is certainly within reach for Atleti, particularly after Real Madrid’s shock elimination at the hands of Albacete (who themselves lost to Barça on Tuesday).
Real Betis enter this matchup on the back of consecutive victories against Feyenoord and Valencia in the Europa League and LaLiga, respectively. The Verdiblancos reached the last eight of the cup following a 2-1 win over Elche last time out.
It has been a very solid season for Betis overall. Manuel Pellegrini’s men currently fifth in LaLiga and finished the Europa League’s league phase in fourth place. They are seeking their first Copa del Rey semifinal since they won the competition in 2022.
Reaching the last four with their injury list would be an impressive achievement for Pellegrini’s men. Betis will be without Isco, Héctor Bellerín, Sofyan Amrabat, Cucho Hernández and Giovani Lo Celso, while Junior Firpo and Rodrigo Riquelme are listed as doubtful. Hernández, Betis’ leading scorer, will be particularly difficult to replace and will undoubtedly be missed on Thursday night.
If you’re attending the match, good luck, as it’s forecasting plenty of rain and wind with temperatures in the 50’s.
Team news
Let’s start with an injury update before we get to the exciting new additions.
Per Pedro Fullana of Cadena SER, Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone are slowly but surely returning to full fitness, though their availability for Thursday remains uncertain. Giuliano appears more likely to feature from the start than Griezmann, as the Argentine has seemingly made a full recovery from the illness he picked up just before the Bodø/Glimt match.
Pablo Barrios was rumored to have picked up a minor injury last Sunday, which led to him being substituted after 50 minutes of play. However, Barrios has been in training over the past couple days, albeit not with the entire group. The Spain international should be available from the bench for Thursday’s match.
Alexander Sørloth remains in the concussion protocol, and it remains uncertain whether he will be available after he suffered a nasty blow to the head in the weekend match against Levante. The Norwegian’s injury comes at a particularly poor time for Los Rojiblancos, who have become increasingly reliant on him for goals.
Now for the fun part, the additions.
Atlético de Madrid will welcome three new names to the team sheet with Ademola Lookman from Atalanta, Rodri Mendoza from Elche and Obed Vargas from Seattle Sounders all joining the club on Monday. With the addition of Lookman, Atlético finally gain a true dribbler who can pose a legitimate threat down the left side. Mendoza and Vargas help reinforce the midfield, an area where Barrios has been in desperate need of support. Vargas in particular represents both an intriguing project and a feel good story. It emerged over the summer during the Club World Cup that the Mexico midfielder is a lifelong Atlético supporter and considers the red and white club to be “the club of his dreams.”
A couple of names who will not be joining Atlético are Marcos Leonardo of Al-Hilal and Éderson of Atalanta. Everything appeared to be finalized for Leonardo to arrive on a loan deal with a buy option, but negotiations collapsed at the last minute. As for Éderson, Atlético pushed until the very end for the Brazilian, though Atalanta were unwilling to allow two players to leave for Spain. The club may make another push for him during the summer window.
Possible 11: Musso; Pubill, Giménez, Hancko, Ruggeri; Johnny, Llorente, Giuliano, Almada; Lookman, Alvarez.
Predicted scoreline: 2-1 with goals from Giuliano and Julián Alvarez for Atleti and Antony for Betis.
Historical matchup
Atlético de Madrid hold an 75-33-34 all-time record against Real Betis in all competitions. In their last 10 meetings, Atléti have recorded a 7-2-1 record against the Heliopolitanos.
The last meeting between the two clubs was in October, where Atléti won at La Cartuja (surprising, I know), with goals from Giuliano and Álex Baena.
The last matchup between the two clubs in the Copa del Rey was back in the 2012/2013 season, where the two clubs squared off in that season’s quarterfinal round. Atlético won the tie 3-1 on aggregate, thanks to goals from Radamel Falcao, Filipe Luís and Diego Costa across the two matches. The Colchoneros went on to win the cup that season, their most recent win to date.
Notable players who have represented both clubs
Club legend Luis Aragonés, Roberto Solozábal, Rodrigo Riquelme, Johnny Cardoso, Antonio Adán & Juanito.
