Preview: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will welcome Atletico Madrid to Camp Nou on Wednesday night for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

The two sides locked horns in Spain's top flight on Saturday, with La Blaugrana scoring a late winner through Robert Lewandowski to move seven points clear at the top of the La Liga table.

Match preview

Barcelona's previous two quarter-final ties with Atletico in the Champions League have ended in defeat, with the Catalan side losing 2-1 to the Red and Whites in the last eight of the 2013-14 competition and then 3-2 at the same stage in 2015-16.

The Blaugrana have only won one of their previous four European games with Atletico, scoring just three times, but they have been victorious in five of their last six matches against the capital outfit in all competitions, including a 2-1 success in La Liga on Saturday.

Barcelona are now seven points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the table, while they are the favourites to overcome Atletico in the Champions League, but Hansi Flick's team will be fully aware of the challenge that their league rivals could provide.

The Catalan team thumped Newcastle United 8-3 in the last-16 stage of the Champions League, including a 7-2 success over the Magpies in the second leg on home soil.

Barcelona are unbeaten in all competitions for almost two months, and their incredible attacking talent means that they are a seriously dangerous team in this tournament, with the brilliant Lamine Yamal having another glorious season.

Atletico will actually enter this match off the back of three straight defeats in all competitions, including their reverse to Barcelona in Spain's top flight on Saturday.

Diego Simeone's side are fourth in the La Liga table, 12 points ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis, so the league is not their focus at this moment, with the Red and Whites instead concentrating on the Champions League and indeed the upcoming Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad.

Atletico lost 3-2 to Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League clash but still managed to advance to the final eight with an aggregate score of 7-5.

Simeone's team were knocked out in the last-16 stage of last season's Champions League by Real Madrid, and they have not been past the quarter-finals since 2016-17, when they again lost to Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

Atletico have actually lost four times in the European Cup this term, which makes their spot in the last eight more remarkable, but their record against Barcelona in the competition will certainly hand them confidence heading into this match.

Barcelona Champions League form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Atletico Madrid Champions League form:

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Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Andreas Christensen (knee), Raphinha (hamstring), Frenkie de Jong (hamstring) and Marc Bernal (ankle) will be absent for Barcelona on Wednesday night, but Ronald Araujo has been declared fit despite being forced off against Atletico last time out.

Jules Kounde made his return from injury off the bench in Saturday's league match, and the expectation is that the Frenchman will be able to feature from the start on Wednesday night.

Lewandowski is also expected to be recalled in the final third of the field, but Marcus Rashford may have done enough to keep his spot down the left, with the on-loan Manchester United attacker likely to be in the first XI.

As for Atletico, Jan Oblak, Marc Pubill and Rodrigo Mendoza have returned to training and could be involved in the European fixture with Barcelona.

However, Pablo Barrios remains sidelined with a thigh injury, while Jose Gimenez (knock) and Johnny Cardoso (muscle) are viewed as major doubts.

Julian Alvarez, who continues to be linked with a move to Barcelona, dropped to the bench against the Catalan outfit on Saturday, but the Argentina international is set to earn a recall, while David Hancko, Ademola Lookman and Matteo Ruggeri should also return.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; E Garcia, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford; Lewandowski

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:

Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri; Koke, Baena; Simeone, Griezmann, Lookman; Alvarez

We say: Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid

Atletico are more than capable of leaving Camp Nou with a positive result on Wednesday night, and we are expecting the tie to be open heading into the second leg, but Barcelona should be able to navigate their way to a narrow first-leg success here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.