Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are set to meet in the Champions League quarter final first leg on Wednesday, the fifth meeting between the two clubs in four months, with two league clashes and a two-leg Copa del Rey battle already resolved.
The Blaugrana have won three of the four clashes so far; starting with a 3-1 league win at the Camp Nou in December. February and March saw the two Copa encounters, Diego Simeone’s Atleti winning their home tie 4-0 before Hansi Flick’s Barca ran them close with a 3-0 victory in Catalonia. Then the two sides met on Saturday in a crunch La Liga clash at the Wanda Metropolitano, and Barcelona came out on the right side of a three goal thriller.
Both clubs beat Premier League opposition to reach the last eight. Barcelona were brutal against Newcastle United; after drawing 1-1 on Tyneside, Barca hit the Magpies for seven in Spain, winning 8-3 on aggregate. Meanwhile Atletico overcame Tottenham Hotspur 7-5 over two legs to take their place in quarter finals.
Talking points
De Jong nearing a Barca return
Barcelona’s win over Atletico on Saturday came with a couple of injury scares, as defensive lynchpin Ronald Araujo was substituted in the first half, complaining of a muscle injury; and then teenage sensation Marc Bernal limped off with an ankle issue. It seems that Araujo was withdrawn as a precaution and he could be fit to face Atleti, but Bernal will miss out.
But there could be a return for another midfield star, as the latest Champions League 2026 news emerging from the Camp Nou reveals that Frenkie De Jong is close to making an appearance. The Dutch ace has missed the last eight games with a hamstring injury, and he is in a race to get match fit for the first leg against Los Rojiblancos, and then another key La Liga match against Espanyol next weekend.
Another hamstring sufferer, Brazilian winger Raphinha, will still be sidelined after he picked up his strain during the Selecao’s loss to France last week and is out for around a month. Raphinha was outstanding in the destruction of Newcastle, scoring two, setting up two and winning a penalty in the 7-2 rout.
Atleti sweating on Gimenez
While Barca have choices to make in their front six, their opponents will do all they can to quell the attacking storm they are likely to face at the Camp Nou and, after losing their last three games, in all competitions, boss Simeone will try to keep things tight at the back: “We need to look at what’s coming, “ he said, in the aftermath of defeat on Saturday, “and we hope to put in a good performance. The tie won’t be calm. They will play the kind of match they played in the Copa del Rey, taking on that responsibility they carry when they play at home, which they handle brilliantly. The will attack and I can’t imagine it being any other kind of match.”
Atleti slipped down to fourth place in the La Liga table last week, a point behind Villarreal and defeat to Barca on Saturday keeps them in fourth. They will surely qualify for the Champions League again next season and, despite losing the second leg of their Round of 16 clash away to Tottenham Hotspur, Los Rojiblancos coasted through, so they still have designs on a trophy this term. But, throughout the rest of the campaign, starting on Wednesday, they need to have their best players on the pitch and that includes centre back and captain Jose Maria Gimenez. He played in the loss to Barca on Saturday but the Uruguayan ace felt a twinge in his foot at the final whistle and looked in some discomfort as he walked off. Fans hope for good news over the next two days and that Gimenez’ mood was more to do with the result than his foot pain.
History
Barcelona have won this tournament five times, the last occasion in 2015 while Atletico are yet to be the champions of Europe, as finalists three times and the last occasion in 2016. The latest Champions League 2026 betting odds say the Blaugrana are more likely to add to their tally than Los Rojiblancos are to break their duck.
Barca have had the better of the head to head meetings with 35 wins to Atleti’s 13 and there have been 15 draws; meanwhile, at the Camp Nou the tally is 19 to four in favour of the Catalans, with nine draws.
With five wins and a draw from their last six games the Blaugrana have been in fine form while Los Rojiblancos have fallen off a cliff, with three wins followed by three consecutive losses, though I reckon that sequence makes Atleti a more dangerous opponent.
Betting Tip
Barcelona are the hot favourites, at SBOTOP odds of 1.55, to win this first leg, with Atleti at 5.00 and the draw at 3.80. This clash promises to be another cracker and, while Los Rojiblancos are always a tough team to encounter, Barca are a powerhouse at home and I expect them to take control of the tie.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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