Who: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Content: Champions League quarter-final first leg
Location: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Date and time: Wednesday 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 16:00 GMT ahead of the live text commentary stream.
Players from Spanish rivals Barcelona and Atletico may be tired of seeing each other by next week’s second leg.
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The Champions League double-header will see three matches played in 10 days, with five intensive meetings completed between teams over the course of two months.
On Saturday, Barcelona came from behind to beat Atlético 2-1 away, strengthening its hold on top of the Spanish league.
They met in the Copa del Rey in February, with each side winning big at home, with Atlético advancing on aggregate.
The two sides have met twice in the knockout stages of the Champions League, both times in the quarter-finals, with Atlético reaching the final each season in 2014 and 2016. Atletico also played the second leg at home.
Barça beat Atleti to take first place in La Liga
Robert Lewandowski scored a dramatic late goal for Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Saturday and moved seven points clear at the top of La Liga after Real Madrid suffered a setback with a loss to Mallorca.
Giuliano Simeone opened the scoring in the first half before Marcus Rashford equalized for Barça.
Atlético midfielder Nico Gonzalez was sent off just before the break and the team fielded 10 men to try to avoid defeat, but almost managed to secure a win.
Atlético have now lost three straight games in all competitions and remain one point behind third-placed Villarreal, who lost 1-0 to Girona on Monday.
With so few La Liga games left to be played, Atlético coach Diego Simeone made frequent rotations with Wednesday’s visit to Camp Nou in mind, with both teams struggling at times.
Barça coach Hansi Flick says both teams will have the advantage in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
“We have the Champions League, where every player can contribute more than 5-10 percent,” Flick said.
Simeone said his team played a “good game”, adding: “Now we have to concentrate on the Champions League games.”
How did Barcelona reach the quarterfinals?
Barcelona advanced to the quarter-finals with a 7-2 victory over Newcastle United at the Camp Nou on March 18th, winning 8-3 on aggregate.
Barcelona took the lead in the sixth minute through Rafinha after Fermin López led a quick counter-attack, but Anthony Eranga equalized nine minutes later from Lewis Hall’s cross. After Marc Bernal restored Barça’s lead with a free kick from Rafinha, Eranga scored again in the 28th minute after Lamine Yamal failed to clear.
After VAR spotted Kieran Trippier’s foul on Rafinha in the box, Yamal made up for it with a spot-kick deep in first-half stoppage time, and Barca bounced back from the break, scoring four goals in the second half with two goals from Fermin and Robert Lewandowski, and another from Rafinha.
How did Atlético Madrid reach the quarter-finals?
Despite losing 3-2 in the second leg in North London, Atlético Madrid withstood a ferocious fightback from Tottenham Hotspur to emerge victorious 7-5 on aggregate.
Scored four times in the first 22 minutes in a 5-2 home first leg, Simeone’s side were reeling from the home onslaught, but goals from Julian Alvarez and David Hanko eventually gave them some breathing room.
Views from both camps
Flick said last month that Wednesday’s matchup was likely to be a “very difficult” match.
“We have to take it step by step, game by game. That’s what we did last season and we’ll do it again,” he said.
Meanwhile, Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo said the draw was “all or nothing” for his team.
“We have quality and if we try our best we can achieve it,” Olmo said. “We are motivated. We remember what happened (in the Copa del Rey) and we cannot afford to fail.”
Simeone said Barcelona are the best attacking team in Europe.
“Playing against them in the quarter-finals will be a high-level challenge that will demand the same level from us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Atleti striker Ademola Lookman said he was looking forward to “another special, special game against a tough opponent.”
“We have to prepare for it and we’ll prepare the right way. Let’s accept it as it comes.”
direct confrontation
The two clubs have played each other 250 times. Barcelona won 115 of those matches, Atlético won 78 and 57 were draws.
Last 10 encounters:
Saturday: Atlético 1-2 Barcelona (La Liga) March 3: Barcelona 3-0 Atlético (Copa del Rey semi-final) February 12: Atlético 4-0 Barcelona (Copa del Rey semi-final) December 2: Barcelona 3-1 Atlético (La Liga) April 2, 2025: Atlético 0-1 Barcelona (Copa del Rey semi-final) March 16, 2025: Atlético 2-4 Barcelona (La Liga) February 25, 2025: Barcelona 4-4 Atlético (Copa del Rey semi-final) December 21, 2024: Barcelona 1-2 Atlético (La Liga) April 17, 2024: Atlético 0-3 Barcelona (La Liga) December 3, 2023: Barcelona 1-0 Atlético (La Liga)
barcelona team news
Raphinha, Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen are all absent due to injury.
However, Ronald Araujo has been deemed fit to play despite being sent off against Atlético at the weekend.
Expected starting lineup:
João Garcia (goalkeeper); Kunde, Kvarsi, Martin, Cancelo. Eric Garcia, Pedri. Yamal, Fermin, Rashford. lewandowski
Atlético team news
Pablo Barrios remains unavailable with a thigh problem, while Jose Jimenez and Johnny Cardoso are big doubts as they struggle to recover from injuries.
Marc Poubil, Jan Oblak and Rodrygo Mendoza have returned to training from injury and could feature.
Expected starting lineup:
Oblak (goalkeeper); Llorente, Le Normand, Hanko, Ruggeri. Moss, baena. Simeone, Griezmann, Lookmann. alvarez
