Coming off a retro-themed LALIGA loss against Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid quickly turn their attention back to a familiar opponent, FC Barcelona. Atleti’s upcoming match against the Catalan club will mark their third meeting in 10 days and their sixth encounter of the season. The final clash of the season — the return leg of a UEFA Champions League quarterfinal — should be filled with drama.
This match against Barcelona starts one of the most important weeks in recent Atlético Madrid’s recent history.
Atlético are coming off a loss, though it carries a clear asterisk as 10 players, along with manager Diego Simeone, were rotated from last Wednesday’s first leg at Camp Nou. The LALIGA fixture served more as a glimpse into Atleti’s future, and as a light run-out for Ademola Lookman and Alexander Sørloth, as opposed to a full-length contest.
Ultimately, it provided a valuable opportunity for key figures such as Koke, Julián Álvarez, Antoine Griezmann, Marcos Llorente, Nahuel Molina and Matteo Ruggeri to get some well-deserved rest. Juan Musso was the lone player to start both the Barcelona first leg and the Sevilla match, and he was even handed the captain’s armband on Saturday.
In contrast, FC Barcelona were unable to rotate their entire starting lineup, given their focus on winning the league. Still, they had an easy time dismantling Espanyol in the Derbi Barceloní. The two players who were 100 percent rested over the weekend were Robert Lewandowski and Jules Koundé. Hansi Flick was delighted to welcome back Frenkie de Jong for a few minutes after he missed the past six weeks through injury.
While there is good news for Barça on the injury front with de Jong’s return, Pau Cubarsí will miss the second leg in the Metropolitano after picking up a straight red card for the challenge on Giuliano Simeone.
Existing injuries Barcelona are those of Raphinha, Marc Bernal and Andreas Christensen, who are all confirmed to be out. Gerard Martín was subbed off at half time against Espanyol on Saturday, but is expected to be ready to go against Atleti on Tuesday.
The main decisions facing Hansi Flick for Tuesday are in the defense and the striker position. Given Lewandowski’s absence from Saturday’s lineup, it’s reasonable to assume he was being rested for a start on Tuesday. However, Ferran Torres’ brace over the weekend may give the German manager second thoughts.
Team news
The main topic of discussion around the Majadahonda campus has been Dávid Hancko’s health. The Slovakian picked up an ankle injury 30 minutes into the first leg at Camp Nou and was promptly swapped for Marc Pubill. Additionally, José María Giménez was not available for Monday’s training session after he picked up a knock against the LALIGA match against Barcelona nine days ago.
As for Pubill, Simeone on Tuesday will be unable to rely on the young Spanish defender, as he will be sidelined through yellow card accumulation. Hancko was working with the ball and doing very light work off to the side during training on Sunday and Monday. But barring a miracle, Hancko will be unavailable for Tuesday.
Atlético then have only two fit central defenders: the much-maligned pairing of Clément Lenglet and Robin Le Normand. Lenglet’s unreliability is a legitimate cause for concern, but Le Normand impressed in the first leg of this tie.
Atleti finally got some good news on injured trio Johnny Cardoso, Pablo Barrios and Jan Oblak. Cardoso is back fully training with the team and is expected to feature for Simeone on Tuesday. Barrios returned to training on Monday, 67 days since his last start, and is tracking to be available for the Copa del Rey final — though there is a chance he is included in Tuesday’s squad.
Oblak appears ready to return to the starting lineup, but only if the Slovenian is deemed to be 10 percent fit. Juan Musso’s recent form does have Simeone thinking twice about who should start between the sticks.
Possible 11: Musso; Molina, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri; Koke, Llorente, Griezmann; Giuliano, Lookman, Alvarez.
Predicted scoreline: 2-1 Atleti win and advance to the Champions League semifinals since the 2016/17 season. Goals from Alvarez and Griezmann, and Lewandowski for Barcelona.
Notable players who have represented both clubs
Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suárez, David Villa, Sergio Agüero, Arda Turan, Memphis Depay, João Félix and Sergi Barjuán.
Historical matchup
Atlético de Madrid hold a 82-57-115 all-time record against Barcelona in all competitions. Obviously, the last time these two teams played was last Wednesday in this same competition.
Tuesday marked the first Champions League meeting in Madrid between these two sides since April 12, 2016 at Estadio Vicente Calderón. That match was also in the quarterfinals, and it stands as one of the most epic nights in the club’s history. Simeone’s side beat Lusi Enrique’s Barcelona by a 2-0 scoreline, thanks to a brace from Antoine Griezmann. The victory in that match saw Atlético go past prime Messi/Suárez/Neymar-era Barça, 3-2 on aggregate, to advance to the Champions League semifinals.
Notably, Barça have never beaten Atlético across two legs in European competition. Simeone and company will hope that trend continues.
