4 hours ago
6
Who: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona
What: Champions League quarterfinal, second leg
Where: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain
When: Tuesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Spanish football clubs Atletico Madrid and Barcelona will meet for the third time in 10 days but, crucially, with a UEFA Champions League (UCL) semifinal berth on the line.
Atletico may be far behind their Catalan opponents in the La Liga title race, but they go into Tuesday’s fixture as strong favourites, thanks to a first-leg victory against 10-man Barcelona at Camp Nou, and a strong home form in Europe this season.
Barcelona, the reigning La Liga champions, will have it all to do if they are to keep alive their dream of clinching their sixth UCL trophy, and first since the 2014–2015 season.
Here is all to know before the knockout tie:
What happened in the first leg at Camp Nou?
Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth scored in each half as Atletico earned a precious 2-0 lead in a tense first-leg clash.
The La Liga leaders were on top in the first half before Pau Cubarsi was sent off for bringing down Atletico’s Giuliano Simeone, who was through on goal.
Alvarez whipped home the free kick at the stroke of halftime, and Sorloth doubled their advantage in the 70th minute to give Atletico a strong chance of reaching the semifinals.
Julian Alvarez, centre, opened the scoring against Barcelona in Atletico’s first-leg 2-0 win last week [Nacho Doce/Reuters]How did Barcelona perform in La Liga on the weekend?
Barcelona thrashed crosstown rivals Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday, taking a major step towards retaining their La Liga title as they moved nine points clear of rivals Real Madrid, who are second.
Ferran Torres struck twice, assisted by Lamine Yamal both times, first with a header from a corner in the 10th minute before doubling the lead in the 25th, racing clear from another Yamal pass.
Espanyol pulled one back in the 56th minute when Pol Lozano fired in a rebound from just inside the box. But Yamal restored control in the 87th on a quick counter, with Marcus Rashford adding a fourth from Frenkie de Jong’s cross.
Barca moved to 79 points with seven games left.
How did Atletico perform in La Liga on the weekend?
Coach Diego Simeone rotated heavily for his team’s visit to face Sevilla to keep players fresh, as Atletico fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Akor Adams sent the hosts ahead from the penalty spot, and after 20-year-old Atletico reserve defender Javier Bonar levelled, Nemanja Gudelj struck again for Sevilla before the interval.
Atletico are fourth in the league standings with 57 points, four points behind third-placed Villarreal.
Have Atletico ever won the UEFA Champions League trophy?
Diego Simeone’s side have never won the competition.
They reached the final in 2014 and 2016, but were beaten by city rivals Real on both occasions.
How did Barcelona reach the UCL quarterfinals?
Barcelona stormed into the quarterfinals with an emphatic 8-3 aggregate win over Newcastle United.
Much of the work was done in their second-leg tie, in which Barca thrashed the Premier League side 7-2 at Camp Nou, as five different players scored.
Lamine Yamal, left, scored in both legs against Newcastle United in the UCL quarters [Scott Heppell/Reuters]How did Atletico Madrid reach the UCL quarterfinals?
Atletico Madrid withstood a rousing Tottenham Hotspur fightback to advance 7-5 on aggregate despite a 3-2 second-leg loss in North London.
Simeone’s side, who scored four times in the opening 22 minutes in the 5-2 first-leg home romp, wobbled under a home onslaught, but goals by Julian Alvarez and David Hancko ultimately gave them breathing space.
Have Atletico and Barcelona played each other in the knockout stages?
The two teams have met twice in the Champions League knockout stages, both times at the quarterfinal stage, with Atletico going through in 2014 and 2016 on their run to the final each season. Atletico played the second leg at home on those occasions, too.
What have the managers said?
Diego Simeone: “We know the opponent we are going to face, and we are aware of how strong they are, but we are also aware of what our objective is – to advance.”
Hansi Flick: “We have the quality. We have the players who can change this. But, of course, we have to fight. We have to focus on the magic.”
After a first-leg defeat at home, the pressure is on Hansi Flick and Barcelona as they travel to face Atletico Madrid [Pablo Morano/Reuters]Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Head-to-head
The two clubs have faced each other on 251 occasions. Barcelona have won 115 of those games, Atletico have won 79, and 57 ended as draws.
Last 10 encounters:
April 8: Barcelona 0-2 Atletico (Champions League quarterfinal, first leg)
April 4: Atletico 1-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
March 3: Barcelona 3-0 Atletico (Copa del Rey semifinal)
February 12 : Atletico 4-0 Barcelona (Copa del Rey semifinal)
December 2 : Barcelona 3-1 Atletico (La Liga)
April 2, 2025: Atletico 0-1 Barcelona (Copa del Rey semifinal)
March 16, 2025: Atletico 2-4 Barcelona (La Liga)
February 25, 2025: Barcelona 4-4 Atletico (Copa del Rey semifinal)
December 21, 2024: Barcelona 1-2 Atletico (La Liga)
April 17, 2024: Atletico 0-3 Barcelona (La Liga)
Atletico’s team news
Marc Pubill is suspended after picking up three yellow cards, while Jose Gimenez, Pablo Barrios, and David Hancko are doubtful due to injuries.
Predicted starting XI:
Musso (goalkeeper); Molina, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri; Llorente, Koke; Simeone, Griezmann, Lookman; Alvarez
Barcelona’s team news
Defender Cubarsi is suspended after his red card in the first leg and will be replaced by Ronald Araujo, who featured in the backline against Espanyol at the weekend.
Marc Bernal, Raphinha, and Andreas Christensen are all out injured.
Predicted starting XI:
Joan Garcia (goalkeeper); Kounde, Araujo, Martin, Cancelo; Eric Garcia, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford; Lewandowski
