The Copa del Rey semifinals will see two of La Liga’s biggest teams come head to head as Atlético Madrid welcome FC Barcelona to the Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano for the second leg of their battle. The first leg ended with a thrilling 4-4 tie, with both sides leading at different points of the night in Montjuïc.
The return fixture poses a challenging occasion for both teams, particularly Atlético who had the psychological blow of leading 2-0 before losing 4-2 to Barcelona on their visit to the Spanish capital only two weeks ago.
A place in the final against either Real Madrid or Real Sociedad is at stake for the winner, and while Barcelona have a commanding lead in the league table and remain in the UEFA Champions League, Atlético’s hopes of silverware rest entirely on securing a place in the final on April 26th at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville.
Atlético Madrid vs. FC Barcelona team news
The Colchoneros will be handling injury doubts over captain Koke, who has not played since February 15th due to a muscle injury. Despite expectations that he could return in recent weeks, he is yet to rejoin the team for full training.
In other areas, Robin Le Normand was substituted as a precaution after a head injury against Espanyol at the weekend, but trained normally on Monday is believed to be fit and available for selection.
For Barcelona, Raphinha is expected to return to the lineup after coach Hansi Flick revealed that the Brazilian did not feature against Girona as he “was not feeling good” at the weekend. It came after he traveled back from South America where he had been on international duty in midweek.
Long term injuries are impacting several Barcelona players, including Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal, while Dani Olmo is not expected back until the end of April at the earliest. Marc-André ter Stegen and Andreas Christensen both returned to training with the team for part of Monday’s session, but are unlikely to feature just yet.
Atlético Madrid vs FC Barcelona expected lineups
Atlético Madrid (4-4-2): Juan Musso; Nahuel Molina, José María Giménez, Clement Lenglet, Javi Galán; Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo de Paul, Conor Gallagher, Giuliano Simeone; Julián Álvarez, Antoine Griezmann.
FC Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczęsny; Jules Koundé, Iñigo Martínez, Pau Cubarsí, Alejandro Baldé; Pedri, Frenkie de Jong; Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Robert Lewandowski.
Diego Simeone could spring some surprises with his line-up, firstly by standing by goalkeeper Juan Musso despite question marks over his performance in the first leg. In defence, Nahuel Molina could return to add defensive strength on the right to face up to Lamine Yamal’s threat, while the midfield could also see a shock with youngster Pablo Barrios likely to be dropped for England international Conor Gallagher.
Barcelona are unlikely to shock anyone with their selection as they field their strongest possible side. That will mean recalls for the likes of Pau Cubarsí, Alejandro Baldé and Frenkie de Jong, who were rested for the win over Girona at the weekend. In attack, Raphinha will also return while Robert Lewandowski will reprise his starting role as the leading center forward.