Atletico Madrid to face Barcelona in Champions League match

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid Set for Champions League Showdown

Atletico Madrid is expected to host La Liga leaders Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain on Tuesday at 9pm GMT. The match will determine whether Barcelona can bounce back from a first-leg defeat and keep alive their hopes of winning their sixth UCL trophy.

Atletico Madrid earned a 2-0 lead in the first leg with goals from Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth, while Barcelona was reduced to 10 men after Pau Cubarsi’s red card. The La Liga leaders will need to overcome this deficit if they are to progress to the semifinals.

Barcelona has been on a strong form recently, thrashing crosstown rivals Espanyol 4-1 in their last match and moving nine points clear of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race. Ferran Torres scored twice for Barcelona, assisted by Lamine Yamal both times.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, has been performing well at home in Europe this season and is considered a strong favourite to win the tie. The team has never won the Champions League but reached the final in 2014 and 2016.

The two teams have met twice before in the Champions League knockout stages, with Atletico going through both times. Diego Simeone’s side will be looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time in their history.

The match is expected to be a closely contested one, with Barcelona needing to overcome the deficit from the first leg and Atletico Madrid looking to capitalize on its home advantage.

Source: Al Jazeera