Overview
Atletico Madrid is preparing to face Barcelona three times in the next 4 matches. Among them, the two teams will face each other in the Champions League quarter-finals, with the first leg taking place at Camp Nou next week.
Coach Diego Simeone's team has also reached the Copa del Rey final, where they will meet Real Sociedad on April 18. Therefore, this is an extremely important stage for the red and white team. However, they have almost withdrawn from the La Liga championship race as the season enters its final stage.
Currently, Atletico is fourth in the standings, 16 points behind the leading team Barcelona, but 13 points ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis.
Therefore, La Liga is only their third priority at this time, when a position in the top 4 is almost certain, and the opportunity to win titles comes from cup arenas.
However, Atletico - the team that just lost to Real Madrid 2-3 in the Madrid derby before the international break - understands the importance of maintaining form before welcoming Barcelona on the weekend. They also played very impressively when facing the Catalan team most recently in February 2026.
In fact, Atletico once defeated Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals at home, before losing 0-3 at Camp Nou in the second leg, but still won a ticket to the final with a total score of 4-3.
Barcelona has won 4 of their last 5 encounters with Atletico, including a 3-1 victory in the first leg this season.
Coach Hansi Flick's team is also unbeaten away from Atletico in La Liga since October 2021, and entered this match with an 8-match unbeaten streak, most recently a 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Barcelona currently leads La Liga, 4 points ahead of Real Madrid, although the gap could be narrowed before kick-off if the Royal team wins against Mallorca.
The Catalan team has scored 78 goals in La Liga this season, but all four of their defeats took place away from home - which forces them to be very vigilant against an energetic Atletico in the upcoming match.
Personnel situation
Marcos Llorente (suspended), Johnny Cardoso (suspended) and Pablo Barrios (hamstring injury) are definitely absent from Atletico Madrid's squad in this weekend's match. Meanwhile, Jan Oblak (hamstring injury), Marc Pubill (reckline injury), Rodrigo Mendoza (ankle injury) and Alexander Sorloth (head injury) are still not in good physical condition.
The midfield is becoming a big problem for Atletico as both Llorente, Cardoso and Barrios cannot play. This is likely to force Alex Baena to retreat deep to play alongside Koke.
Coach Diego Simeone will certainly have to calculate for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals coming up, but Julian Alvarez is still expected to lead the attack.
On the other side, Barcelona suffered a major loss when Raphinha suffered a hamstring injury during his international duties and is expected to only be able to return in early May.
Andreas Christensen will continue to be absent for a long time due to a serious knee injury, while Frenkie de Jong is still not fit due to hamstring problems, although he may be able to return in time for the Champions League match between the two teams next week.
In the opposite direction, Eric Garcia has recovered and is likely to start in the center of the defense, while Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde have also returned to training after injuries.
In attack, Marcus Rashford may be given the opportunity to play on the wing, while Joao Cancelo and Marc Bernal are expected to be in Barcelona's starting lineup.
Expected lineup:
Atletico Madrid: Musso, Molina, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri, Simeone, Koke, Baena, Lookman, Alvarez, Griezmann.
J. Garcia, Araujo, Cubarsi, E. Garcia, Cancelo, Bernal, Pedri, Yamal, F. Lopez, Rashford, Lewandowski.
The match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona takes place at 2:00 AM on April 5th (Vietnam time).
