On February 12, the first semifinal of the Spanish Cup will take place between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Can Flick’s team move closer to defending their title?<\/p>\n
Despite a not very confident start to the season, Atletico are currently showing quite solid results. Over 23 rounds of the Spanish championship, the team has collected 45 points, which currently allows them to occupy 3rd place in the standings. However, the gap from the leaders, Real and Barcelona, is already quite significant\u201412 and 13 points, respectively.<\/p>\n
On their way to the Spanish Cup semifinals, “Los Colchoneros” knocked out Baleares, Deportivo, and Real Betis. The team also performed fairly well in the Champions League, where in 8 matches they managed to earn 13 points, finishing 14th overall and qualifying for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Barcelona also had problems at the start of the season, but Hansi Flick’s team adapted and is once again showing excellent results. After 23 rounds of La Liga, the Catalans have collected 58 points, which currently lets them lead the league table. However, their main rival, Real Madrid, is close behind\u2014just one point separates them. In the Spanish Cup, Barcelona managed to overcome Guadalajara, Racing, and Albacete. In 8 Champions League matches, the “Blaugrana” earned 16 points, which was enough to take 5th place in the table and qualify for the Round of 16.<\/p>\n
Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: Key Stats and Trends<\/p>\n
Over 2.5 goals have been scored in each of Barcelona\u2019s last 7 matches.
\nIn 23 Spanish league games, Barcelona have scored 63 goals\u2014the best result among all teams. Real, in second place for this stat, have only 49 goals.
\nBarcelona have won 8 of their last 9 away matches.
\nAtletico Madrid have just 1 win in their last 4 games.
\nAtletico Madrid have conceded only 18 goals this La Liga season\u2014the best defensive record among all teams.
\nAtletico Madrid vs Barcelona: Probable Starting Lineups<\/p>\n
Atletico Madrid: Musso \u2013 Ruggeri, Gantzko, Pubill, Llorente \u2013 Griezmann, Koke, Mendoza, Simeone \u2013 Lukman Alvarez<\/p>\n
Barcelona: Garcia \u2013 Balde, Martin, Cabarsi, Kounde \u2013 Garcia, de Jong \u2013 Lopez, Olmo, Yamal \u2013 Torres.<\/p>\n
Previous Matches: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona<\/p>\n
In the last 5 matches between these clubs, Barcelona have a clear advantage. The Catalans won 3 games, 1 ended in a draw, and Atletico Madrid won once. In 4 out of these 5 matches, more than 2.5 goals were scored.<\/p>\n
In last year\u2019s Spanish Cup semifinals, the teams scored a combined 9 goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"