It will be a cracker as Atletico Madrid look to build on their first-leg win against Barcelona to set up a first Champions League last-4 rumble in years, MySportDab reports.
Rojiblancos stunned Barcelona in the first leg in Camp Nou last week, winning 2–0 against the run of play, thanks to their numerical advantage after Pau Cubarsi’s red card. But can they leverage the impressive away result to clinch the semifinal ticket?
The two teams come into this clash off contrasting results in their respective domestic league outings at the weekend.
Barcelona quickly turned the corner after the first leg UCL loss to the Red-Whites, thrashing Espanyol 4–1 to extend their lead at the La Liga top to nine points, closing in on a second consecutive La Liga title.
Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, fell to a shock 2–1 away defeat to Sevilla, but that wasn’t a big surprise as head coach Diego Simeone rested almost the team’s regular starting XI for this crunch Champions League second-leg.
Notably, Barcelona head into this clash as clear favourites and will be itching to exact revenge after the first-leg defeat.
They have proven a difficult opponent for Atletico Madrid each time they travel to face the latter in Spain’s capital. In fact, their most recent trip to the Metropolitano Stadium ended in a 2–1 victory for the Catalans.
Overall, five of their last six games against the Diego Simeone-led side have ended in a win for the La Liga giants. It’s now not a question of whether they can win at Metropolitano, but of overturning the 2–0 first-leg deficit.
Blaugrana are still without Raphinha and Marc Bernal for this game, while Atletico Madrid’s defender David Hancko remains a doubt. Ronald Araujo or Eric Garcia are options available to cover for Pau Cubarsi’s red card for the Catalans.
