Barcelona will host Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final clash on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The two La Liga title hopefuls will hope to hammer a huge dent into the other’s confidence ahead of a crucial run-in, while also aiding their quest to pick up major silverware with a huge victory here.<\/p>\n
Both sides sent significant messages in the quarter-final. Barcelona put five unanswered goals past Valencia and Atletico did the same to Getafe, setting up a mouthwatering affair between two of Europe’s elite teams.<\/p>\n
Barcelona are sweating over the fitness of Lamine Yamal after the winger posted a photo of a foot injury picked up against Las Palmas. He didn’t train on Monday but that absence is thought to be preventative, rather than enforced.<\/p>\n
Andreas Christensen is expected to return to the squad after overcoming his injury, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal remain unavailable.<\/p>\n
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Atletico Madrid (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski<\/p>\n
Diego Simeone has turned to goalkeeper Juan Musso in the Copa del Rey and is likely to give the Argentinian another run-out here in place of Jan Oblak.<\/p>\n
There will also be a return to the lineup for midfielder Pablo Barrios, who was suspended for the weekend’s victory over Valencia.<\/p>\n
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-4-2): Musso; Molina, Gimenez, Le Normand, Galan; Simeone, De Paul, Barrios, Lino; Griezmann, Alvarez.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"