| Barcelona vs Atléti Copa semifinal Match Preview |
One foot in the final, meaning there is still work to be done. Barcelona put up an impressive performance last week to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the Calderon and give themselves the advantage in the first leg of their 2016/2017 Copa del Rey semifinal. Now, they need to finish the job when they host Diego Simeone’s men at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night.
The Catalans have been in the final of the tournament in the last three editions and have won the last two editions, their goal of winning a third consecutive title and extend their record of most wins with 29 titles is still well on track.
Barça come into the game with full confidence knowing they have an advantage from the first leg, and their recent Liga 3-0 win over Athletic Club boosts their morale.. Atletico Madrid improved over the weekend after seeing off Leganes 2-0 at the Calderon.
TEAM NEWS
Luis Enrique has named his 18-man squad for the game which does not feature Ter Stegen, Jérémy Mathieu, Rafinha Alcántara and Neymar, the first two given rests while Rafinha Alcántara is injured with Neymar suspended. This means Jasper Cillessen is set to start in goal while Arda Turan plays left wing.
Cules will be delighted after receiving the news that Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and Lucas Digne are all fit and received the medical greenlight to play.
For the visitors, only Captain Gabi misses out after being suspended, it’s a huge loss for them considering the fact that he’s one of the main pillars of their team.
BARCELONA VS ATLETICO MADRID – COPA
Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Time: 9:00pm CET
Venue: Camp Nou
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
Barcelona 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Barcelona
Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid
Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: WWWDWW
Atletico Madrid: WDDDLW
Predicted Barcelona Lineup: Jasper Cillessen; Sergio Roberto, Gerard Piqué, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba; Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Arda Turan
Predicted Atletico Madrid Lineup: Moya; Vrsaljko, Stefan Savic, Diego Godin, Filipe Luis; Saul Niguez, Koke, Nico Gaitan; Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gameiro, Carrasco
BarcaLens Prediction: It will be a cracking game, Atléti are known to be very defensive, but they need two goals so might increase threat in attack and this could leave their defence more vulnerable – Barcelona 3-1 Atletico Madrid.
This post was last modified on December 14, 2018 10:01 am