Atletico Madrid welcome Barcelona for the second leg of the Spanish Copa Del Rey, with the tie still in the balance at 4-4. With both teams often serving up high-scoring encounters, another thrilling encounter is expected here.
Atleti head into this clash following a 1-1 La Liga draw with Espanyol last weekend. That result means Diego Simeone’s men are now winless in their last five matches across all competitions, a run that saw them crash out of the UEFA Champions League.
Sitting nine points off the pace in La Liga, the Copa Del Rey is likely to be Atletico Madrid’s only genuine chance for silverware. The 4-4 draw in the first leg highlights their major problem, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches in all competitions.
Barcelona are in excellent form heading into this clash, with the 4-1 La Liga victory over Girona extending their winning run in all competitions to six matches. The Catalans are among the leading scorers in Spain at the moment, scoring three or more goals in six of their last seven matches, including the 4-4 draw in the first leg.
For all their attacking quality, Barcelona are usually left exposed at the back as evidenced by the result in the first leg. Hansi Flick’s men are without a clean sheet in three of their last four matches across all competitions.
How the bookies view it: Slight edge for Barcelona
Barcelona have been given a slight edge by the bookies with BoyleSports offering odds of 5/4 for an away win. Atletico Madrid are priced at 6/4 for a home victory while a draw is set at 13/5 with BoyleSports.
Head to head: Formidable Barcelona
Barcelona have a 37-19 advantage with 18 draws from 74 previous matches against Atletico Madrid. Both teams claimed away wins in their La Liga meetings this season before the 4-4 draw in the Copa Del Rey first leg.
Players to watch: Lethal Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski already has 38 goals across all competitions for Barcelona and will be the one to watch for Barcelona. The striker has found the net in three of his last four matches against Atletico Madrid and is priced at 11/8 by BoyleSports to score anytime.
Julian Alvarez is Atletico Madrid‘s top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions, including six in his last eight matches. He has also been on target in the last two games against Barcelona and can be backed to get on the score sheet at 7/4 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Atletico Madrid’s only major absentee is midfielder Koke, although they are well covered in that department, with Gallagher expected to keep his place in the middle of the park. Meanwhile Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann are expected to lead the attack.
Bracelona will be without Marc Bernal, Marc Casado, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Dani Olmo and Andreas Christensen due to injury. However, Lewandowki, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are expected to continue upfront.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Azpilicueta, Simeone, Gallagher, Barrios, Lino, Alvarez, Griezmann
Barcelona: Szczęsny, Kounde, Araujo, Martinez, Balde, Gavi, Pedri, Yamal, de Jong, Raphinha, Lewandowski
Anything else catch the eye?
Six of Barcelona’s last seven games have produced over 2.5 goals, and a repeat is pegged at 6/10 by BoyleSports. Three of the last four matches between both teams have had more goals after the break and a similar outcome is priced at 10/11 with BoyleSports.
Atletico Madrid have scored first in the last two matches against Barcelona, and could be backed to grab the opening goal at evens.
This Spanish Cup match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona will be played on and kick off at 20:30. Check below for our tipsters best Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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