La Liga | Gameweek 28

Mar 16, 2025 at 8pm UK

Estadio Civitas Metropolitano

Atletico vs Barcelona

Match preview

Atletico suffered penalty heartache in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they were knocked out by bitter rivals Real Madrid, and Julian Alvarez's double in the shootout will live long in the memory.

Diego Simeone's side beat Los Blancos 1-0 in the second leg of their last-16 tie, and they can take a lot of confidence from that excellent performance, but they came up short against Real Madrid once again in the Champions League.

Atletico cannot afford to dwell on the disappointment, however, as they can still complete a double this season, with the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona taking place at the beginning of April and the two sides level on 4-4 from the first leg.

The Reds are third in La Liga, just one point behind Barcelona, but the Catalans have a game in hand after last Saturday's match against Osasuna was postponed at the last minute.

Atletico were beaten 2-1 by Getafe in the league last time out, a result that dealt a huge blow to their title hopes, but Simeone's side have the second-best home record in La Liga this term, picking up 34 points from 14 games.

While Atletico have been excellent at home this season, Barcelona have the best away record in La Liga, picking up 30 points from their 14 away games with a record of nine wins, three draws and two defeats.

Hansi Flick's men are still chasing a treble this season, having booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Benfica in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday night.

Barcelona were due to face Osasuna in La Liga last weekend, but that match was postponed at the last minute after the devastating news that first-team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia had died just hours before kick-off.

The league leaders now have a game in hand on Real Madrid and Atletico, putting them in an even stronger position at the top of the table, while their attack has been incredibly impressive this season, finding the back of the net 71 times in 26 league games, with Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal all enjoying fine campaigns.

However, Barcelona are winless in their two meetings with Atletico this season, losing 2-1 in the reverse fixture in September and drawing 4-4 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final in February.

The Catalans, however, will have fond memories of the last time they played at the Wanda Metropolitano, as they ran out 3-0 winners in the corresponding fixture last season.

Recent Performance

Atletico Madrid La Liga form:WDDWWL

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):WDWLLL

Barcelona La Liga form:WWWWWW

Barcelona form (all competitions):WWDWWW

Team News

Atletico will be without the services of Angel Correa through suspension against Barcelona after the striker was shown a red card in the closing stages of their 2-1 defeat to Getafe last weekend.

Koke is also a doubt, while Rodrigo De Paul will need to be assessed after picking up a knock in the second half of the Madrid derby, but he is expected to be available in the end.

There could be just one change to the side that took the field against Real Madrid, with Nahuel Molina possibly coming in for Marcos Llorente, but Conor Gallagher should retain his place in the XI.

As for Barcelona, Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen remain unavailable due to long-term knee injuries, but Andreas Christensen is now theoretically available and could be included in the squad.

Flick has big decisions to make all over the pitch, particularly at the heart of defence, where Inigo Martinez could be left out, while Dani Olmo could get the nod over Gavi at number 10.

Yamal, Raphinha and Lewandowski will once again make up the front three, while Frenkie de Jong is expected to be preferred to Marc Casado as Barcelona look to build an incredibly strong bench for the title showdown.

Possible starting lineup

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Molina, Gimenez, Lenglet, Reinildo; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski