Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Prediction and Preview – 05/04/16
Champions League preview – Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid prediction.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen should return to the Barcelona lineup where he’s been a regular during this season’s Champions League. Luis Suarez faces a one-match suspension after getting booked in Saturday’s El Clasico but is eligible to face Atletico on Tuesday. Defenders Jeremy Mathieu, Adriano Correia and forward Sandro Ramirez have all been ruled out with injuries.
Nacho Monsalve was handed his first team debut for Atletico on Saturday and the 21-year-old centre-back may be required again on Tuesday with doubts surrounding the fitness of the first choice pairing Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin. Stefan Savic is back in training following a calf injury and will be preferred to Monsalve should he prove his fitness. Diego Simeone is watching the progress of left winger Yannick Carrasco who has been nursing a sprained ankle and could figure in the coach’s Champions League plans.
Possible Line-ups
Barcelona 4-3-3 formation: Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakatic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Atletico Madrid 4-4-2 formation: Oblak; Juanfran, Monsalve, Hernandez, Luis; Gabi, Koke, Fernandez, Saul; Griezmann, Torres
Statistics
- Barcelona have won 8 drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 10 matches
- Atletico Madrid have won 6 drawn 3 and lost 1 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Barcelona have scored an average of 3 goals and conceded an average of 0.9 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Atletico Madrid have scored an average of 1.7 goals and conceded an average of 0.4 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 9 of Barcelona’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Atletico Madrid’s previous 10 matches
Prediction
Barcelona were defeated for the first time in 39 competitive matches when losing 2-1 to Real Madrid in Camp Nou on Saturday. The Catalan’s have a 100% Champions League home record for the past two seasons and the last time they failed win at home in this competition was when drawing 1-1 against Atletico when eliminated at the quarter-final stage in April 2014. Barca have won the last six meetings with Atletico, winning 2-1 both home and away in La Liga this season.
Atletico recorded their biggest win of the season when defeating Real Betis 5-1 at the weekend. Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres both found the net and Simeone will be hoping his strikers can conjure up an away goal for the second leg. Atletico were unable to breakdown PSV Eindhoven over two legs in the previous round and qualified in a nerve-racking penalty shootout.
The prospect of taking on Barcelona’s front three with a makeshift back line does not bode well for Atletico chances in the first leg.
Tips
Barcelona to win at 8/15 with William Hill
Over 2.5 goals at 11/10 with Betfair Sportsbook
Barcelona to win 3-1 at 14/1 with BetVictor
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