Atletico Madrid v Barcelona – Lineups, Stats and Preview

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona Match Preview

Atletico Madrid host Barcelona Thursday evening for the first leg of their King's Cup tie in the semi-final.

The two teams find themselves at this stage of the competition for the second consecutive season, with Diego Simeone's side looking for revenge after being knocked out by Barcelona in the semi-finals last year.

This time around, Simeone's side advanced to the final four, putting in one of their most complete performances of the campaign in a 5-0 demolition of Real Betis in the quarter-finals.

Barcelona arrive in Madrid in excellent form, having won each of their last six matches in all competitions, scoring at least twice in each of those victories.

Hansi Flick's side lead La Liga with 58 points from 23 matches, boasting the best attacking record in the division having scored 63 goals and conceded just 23.

Team news for Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona

Atletico Madrid could welcome back Marc Pubill after missing the weekend's league match through illness.

Nicolas Gonzalez remains doubtful due to ongoing physical issues, while Johnny Cardoso is ruled out with a muscle injury.

Pablo Barrios is also unavailable after suffering a thigh problem in Atletico's previous Copa del Rey outing.

Barcelona continue to deal with several injury problems, with Frenkie de Jong doubtful due to a groin problem.

Andreas Christensen remains sidelined with a long-term cruciate ligament injury, while Gavi continues his recovery from a meniscus problem.

Pedri is out with a hamstring injury and Raphinha is also unavailable as he continues to recover from a thigh problem.

Marcos Rashford will also miss the match after suffering a knee problem.

Giving an update on his team, Flick said: “We had some problems. Rashford is not ready; he took a knock. It's not good news, but I believe in my team. The situation is not easy.

“We are playing against a fantastic team. I saw the cup match against Betis and it was impressive. Cholo is doing a great job at Atletico. I really like what I saw. It will be a difficult match tomorrow.”

Expected line-ups for Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona

Atlético Madrid: Oblak; Llorente, Pubill, Hancko, Ruggeri; Simeone, Mendoza, Koke, Baena; Griezmann, Lookman

Barcelona: Garcia; Martin, Garcia, Araujo, Cancelo; Bernal, Olmo, Lopez; Rashford, Torres, Yamal

How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: TV channel, online streaming

The first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona kicks off on Thursday evening, at 8pm in the UK.

The game will be available on ITV4 and streaming is available on ITVX.

The stats of the Atletico Madrid – Barcelona match

• Atletico Madrid have reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals in consecutive seasons
• Barcelona have won their last six matches in all competitions
• The Catalan team has scored at least twice in six consecutive matches
• Barcelona have won the last three meetings between the two teams
• Atletico Madrid were eliminated by Barcelona at this stage last season

Prediction