Atletico Madrid face Barcelona for the third time in just over a month when the Catalans visit the capital for the second leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal.
The aggregate scores are level following an extraordinary 4-4 draw in the first leg in which Atleti were 2-0 up after six minutes and trailing by two with six minutes of normal time left before a remarkable late comeback.
Diego Simeone’s side also held a 2-0 lead in the league meeting between these sides on March 16 only for Barca to score four times in the final 20 minutes to strike a potentially fatal blow to Atleti’s title chances.
Having been eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on penalties by Real Madrid, Atleti’s remaining chance to win silverware this season could be in the domestic cup. That makes this fixture arguably the most important of their campaign to date.
Barca, meanwhile, are still chasing a possible treble. They won two league games in the space of four days last week as coach Hansi Flick struck an expert balance between fielding strong teams while allowing his key players the rest they needed. Still, there is likely to be some fatigue to deal with as they prepare to head to the Metropolitano.
While this season’s results have favoured Barca, history may be on Atletico’s side. These teams have met seven times previously at this stage of the Copa del Rey, and Atleti progressed from the most recent two back in 1991 and 2000.
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Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona lineups, predicted starting 11, team news
Robin Le Normand went off after a nasty clash of heads in last weekend’s draw with Espanyol. Although Atleti said later that they had no concerns over possible longer-term damage, the defender is not likely to be involved on Wednesday. Clement Lenglet and Jose Maria Gimenez should start instead, just as they did in the first leg.
Otherwise, the team is likely to be very similar to the one that lost to Barca in La Liga just before the international break. Conor Gallagher could come into the midfield four, either in place of Samuel Lino or Giuliano Simeone.
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup (4-4-2, right to left): Oblak (GK) — Llorente, Gimenez, Lenglet, Reinildo — Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher — Griezmann, Alvarez
Injured: Le Normand (head)
Suspended: None
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Barca expect to have Raphinha available again. The Brazilian sat out the wins over Osasuna and Girona last week, with coach Flick preferring to rest him after his return from World Cup qualifying duty.
Dani Olmo has an adductor injury that will likely keep him out for three weeks, so Gavi is tipped to start as the No. 10 in front of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. Alejandro Balde and Pau Cubarsi should return to the lineup in defence.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen trained with the squad on Monday for the first time since suffering a serious knee injury last September, but he is not expected to supplant Wojciech Szczesny just yet.
Barcelona predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Szczesny (GK) — Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde — Pedri, De Jong — Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha — Lewandowski
Injured: Ter Stegen (knee, doubt), Olmo (adductor), Bernal (knee), Casado (knee)
Suspended: None
Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this Copa del Rey match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | ESPN Deportes | ESPN+, Fubo |
| Canada | — | — |
| UK | Premier Sports 1 | Premier Sports Player |
| Australia | — | — |
| India | — | FanCode |
