Having lost their last El Clasico 2-1 at the hands of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona will be in no mood to give an inch to Los Blancos’s cross town rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter finals.
That defeat brought to an end Barcelona’s 39-match unbeaten streak, and Luis Enrique’s men will be looking to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.
Atletico Madrid have been fighting a tougher war over the last couple of seasons — overthrowing the duopoly of Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga. However, they have not seen much success against the Blaugrana, losing all of their last six games (in all competitions) to Barca.
However, Atletico have been resolute in defence in the Champions League this season conceding just three goals from eight matches. A draw will be a good result for them to take back to the Vicente Calderon.
Lineups
FC Barcelona
The Catalans are expected to start with their strongest available lineup, as they go on the search for redemption after a 2-1 loss at the hands of arch rivals Real Madrid. To add to that fact, that loss brought an end to a 39-game unbeaten run for the Blaugrana, and manager Luis Enrique will be looking to get his team back to winning ways as soon as possible as this is the business end of the season.
Possible Starting XI (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Alba, Pique, Mascherano, Alves; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic; Neymar, Suarez, Messi.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico have always been resolute in defence under the leadership of Diego Simeone, and we can expect them to be nothing but that at the Camp Nou against Barcelona on Tuesday night. Simeone usually likes to go with the 4-4-2 formation, but we may see him change that up, to tackle the ultra attacking threat that the Catalans always possess. One good news for the Rojiblanco is that winger Yannick Carrasco is expected to be fit to play this game.
Possible Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Oblak; Luis, Godin, Gimenez, Juanfran; Gabi; Carrasco, Koke, Saul, Griezmann; F. Torres.
Key Stats
- Atletico Madrid have not been able to defeat Barcelona in their last six matches against the Blaugrana, in all competitions.
- The Rojiblancos are currently on a six-match unbeaten run in the Champions League.
- Diego Simeone’s men have kept a clean sheet in five of these six matches.
- Barcelona have won six of their last seven matches in the Champions League.
- The Catalans’s 39-match unbeaten streak was ended this Saturday by arch rivals Real Madrid.
Prediction
FC Barcelona 2-0 Atletico Madrid
It is difficult to see Atletico Madrid getting anything out of this game, especially because the match is being played at the Camp Nou. Of course, Barcelona have suffered a morale-crushing defeat against Real Madird this weekend, that brought their 39-match unbeaten streak to an end, but that will only motivate them to do well against the other team from the Spanish capital.
Odds (Paddy Power)
FC Barcelona: 1/2
Draw: 16/5
Atletico Madrid: 6/1
