Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

Saturday serves up the first of three meetings between Atléti and Barça over the next fortnight.

A fourth meeting of the season between the sides. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

Barcelona lock horns with Atlético Madrid for the fourth time this season when visiting Spain’s capital on Saturday for a crucial La Liga clash—the first of three meetings between the teams over the next two weeks.

Barça return from the international break with a critical fixture in their bid to successfully defend their La Liga title, but will also have one eye on the upcoming Champions League quarterfinal first leg with Atléti on Wednesday—the return fixture on Tuesday, April 14. These two will be sick of the sight of one another come that clash in Madrid.

The pair have already battled in the Copa del Rey semifinals this term, Atléti running out 4–3 aggregate winners despite conceding three unanswered goals during the second leg. Barcelona won the league meeting 3–1 back in December at Camp Nou.

Atléti have more or less given up in La Liga and are instead prioritizing the Champions League and Copa del Rey final, but Hansi Flick’s side desperately need three points to stave off Real Madrid this weekend. They are currently four points ahead of their Clásico rivals and will not want to leave the door ajar.

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Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona Score Prediction

Barcelona Squeeze Past Atlético

Barça are flying high. | Xavi Bonilla/DeFodi Images/DeFodi/Getty Images

The outcome of Saturday’s match might come down to who wants victory more. For Atléti, the league season is effectively over, Champions League qualification all but secured without any hopes of competing for the title. However, La Blaugrana have much more riding on the game.

While both teams must consider Wednesday’s Champions League meeting, Barça simply can’t afford to take things easy this weekend with Real Madrid on their tail. They will have to play with intensity and fervor that should prove too powerful for their hosts.

Barça will have learned from their four-goal defeat at the Metropolitano and will now be prepared to deal with Atléti’s direct approach against their high line. A shot at redemption and to land a psychological blow ahead of upcoming clashes could prove too good to turn down for Flick’s men.

• Head-to-head record: Barça’s 4–0 loss away at Atléti in February was something of an anomaly. The Catalans have an impressive record in this fixture and had won their previous four trips to the Metropolitano, In La Liga, they have lost just three of their last 30 against Atléti.
• Atléti intensity issues: With full focus on the Champions League tie with Barcelona, Atléti are unlikely to exert themselves too much on Saturday, instead saving themselves for the midweek encounter. That will leave their visitors with plenty of time and space to unleash their attacking threats.
• Prolific Barça: La Blaugrana entered the international break in exceptional goalscoring form. Their three matches leading up to the hiatus saw them fire 13 goals past Sevilla, Newcastle United and Rayo Vallecano, and even without the injured Raphinha this weekend, they will fancy their chances of breaching Atléi’s goal on multiple occasions.

Prediction: Atlético Madrid 1–2 Barcelona

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Atlético Madrid Predicted Lineup vs. Barcelona

Atléti have some injury issues. | FotMob

Diego Simeone will ideally want to rotate where possible, perhaps the reason Alexander Sørloth starts ahead of Antoine Griezmann, but injury and suspension issues across the team offer him numerous selection headaches.

Marcos Llorente is a notable miss for Simeone through suspension, with Johnny Cardoso also banned for the Barcelona clash for reaching the yellow card threshold. Injury-wise, there are many doubts for the match.

Marc Pubill, Jan Oblak, Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo Mendoza are all risks for the clash.

Atlético predicted lineup vs. Barcelona (4-4-2): Oblak; Molina, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Baena, Koke, Lookman; Alvarez, Sørloth.

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Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Atlético Madrid

Barcelona have several major absentees. | FotMob

Barcelona are too missing key names for the clash, notably without Raphinha after the Brazilian suffered a hamstring injury on international duty that will sideline him until May. He joins Andreas Christensen on the absentee list.

Frenkie de Jong appears almost certain to miss the first of three upcoming Atléti battles, but could make his comeback on Wednesday night. Marc Bernal will replace him in the engine room.

Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde have both recently returned to training, but their comebacks may come midweek rather than on Saturday. Eric García could step in for the former at right back, with João Cancelo filling in for the latter.

Barcelona predicted lineup vs. Atlético (4-2-3-1): J. García; E. García, Cubarsí, Martín, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, López, Rashford; Lewandowski.

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What Time Does Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona Kick Off?

• Location: Madrid, Spain
• Stadium: Riyadh Air Metropolitano
• Date: Saturday, April 4
• Kick-off Time: 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. BST

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How to Watch Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona on TV, Live Stream

Country	TV/Live Stream
United States	ESPN Deportes, ESPN Select, ESPN App, fuboTV
United Kingdom	Sky Sports Football, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra, Disney+ Premium
Canada	TSN4, TSN+
Mexico	Sky Sports Mexico, Sky+, izzi

• MORE: Full list of La Liga broadcasters around the world

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