The first leg quarter-final match between Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid will take place at 2:00 AM on April 9th, at Camp Nou stadium. Statistics from the European Football Federation (UEFA) show that up to 12 players from both teams will be suspended in the second leg quarter-final if they receive more cards.
On Atletico Madrid's side, this number is 8 players, including: Almada, Barrios, Le Normand, Lenglet, Llorente, Pubill, Ruggeri, Simeone. Of these, Barrios will almost certainly not play in the first leg due to injury.
The remaining Atletico players are at high risk of receiving cards, because most of them are playing in defense (Le Normand, Lenglet, Pubill, Ruggeri and Llorente). A disadvantageous statistic for Atletico is that they face challenges from referee Kovacs.
Besides the fact that Atletico has never won under the referee's direction, it should be remembered that he has shown up to seven yellow cards in their Champions League match against Galatasaray. If they receive a rain of yellow cards in the match against Barcelona, coach Simeone's team is at risk of serious weakening in the second leg.
In the case of Barca, although the number of players at risk of suspension is less, a few people stand out as particularly important factors. It is impossible not to mention Lamine Yamal, one of Flick's biggest stars, and his absence from the second leg will cause great losses if he receives another yellow card in the first leg.
Besides, Casado, Gerard Martin and Fermin Lopez of Barca will also be suspended if they receive more yellow cards. These are all players with quite enthusiastic play from the home team.
Barcelona vs Atletico match statistics
All previous encounters between Barcelona and Atletico in UEFA tournaments took place in the Champions League quarter-finals, with Atletico winning both times - a total score of 2-1 in the 2013-2014 season (1-1 draw away, 1-0 win at home) and 3-2 in the 2015-2016 season (1-2 loss away, 2-0 win at home).
This is Barcelona's 25th match in UEFA tournaments against another Spanish club. They have won 7, drawn 6 and lost 11 in the previous 24 matches. For Atletico, this will be the 26th time they have met their compatriots in European cups, with their previous record being 11 wins, 5 draws, 9 losses.
Barcelona has only lost 2 of their last 18 home matches in UEFA tournaments (13 wins, 3 draws) and has won all four of their most recent matches, scoring 19 goals in those matches. Hansi Flick's team has only failed to score in 1 of their last 30 matches in the Champions League. In the opposite direction, they have also not kept a clean sheet in their last 13 matches in this tournament.
Lamine Yamal has scored in all three of Barcelona's last three matches in the Champions League.
Atletico has only won one of its last seven away matches in the Champions League (2 draws, 4 losses).
Julian Alvarez has scored 14 goals in his last 17 appearances in the Champions League.
