Barcelona, Atlético Madrid re-ignite rivalry in UCL quarter-finals.

FC Barcelona vs. Atlético Madrid kicks off at 20:00 [GMT+1] on Wednesday, April 8, at Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona will renew their rivalry in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with Atletico Madrid, whom they defeated at the weekend in a 2-1 win. Across all competitions, the historical rivalry strongly favours Barcelona, who have won 115 of the 251 meetings between the sides, compared to Atlético’s 80 victories. However, in European competition against fellow Spanish clubs, Barcelona’s record is relatively modest. They have won only four of their 11 two-legged ties against Liga opposition and have struggled in recent encounters. However, at home they remain strong, losing just once in their last seven European matches against Spanish visitors. Experience in the competition also slightly favours Barcelona. This is their 30th Champions League campaign, a joint record alongside Real Madrid. They reached the semi-finals last season, defeating SL Benfica and Borussia Dortmund before losing a thrilling tie to Inter Milan. Key players could once again shape the outcome. Lamine Yamal has been in outstanding form, scoring in Barcelona’s last three Champions League matches and reaching ten goals in the competition before turning 19. He will be hoping to make a mark as Barcelona pursues a double over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. A 4—2—3—1 formation with Robert Lewandowski in attack is expected against their Spanish rivals. Unfortunately, Barcelona will be without Raphinha [hamstring], who has also been prolific in knockout games, scoring ten goals in his last ten appearances at this stage.

Atlético’s record against Spanish teams in Europe is more balanced. They have won five and lost five of their ten two-legged ties. In addition, ATL Madrid have lost only two of their last seven European matches against domestic rivals. Interestingly, all previous European meetings between these two clubs have come at the quarter-final stage, and on both occasions it was Atlético who progressed. In 2013/14, they edged through 2-1 on aggregate, with Koke scoring the decisive goal. Two years later, in 2015/16, Atlético again came out on top with a 3-2 aggregate win, inspired by Antoine Griezmann, who scored both goals in the second leg. They will be hoping to finish this midweek game as the better side, having failed to do so at the weekend. Julián Álvarez has been a major threat, having scored eight goals in this season’s competition and 14 in his last 17 matches overall. The Argentine is expected to team up with Antoine Griezmann at the attacking end of a conventional 4—4—2 formation.