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Barcelona will take on Atletico Madrid in the first leg of this Champions League quarterfinal, with the hosts certainly very motivated to bounce back after the loss in El Clasico.
Barcelona’s 1-2 home loss at the hands of Real Madrid ended an incredible run of form for today’s hosts and it has to be said that Barca did not deserve to win that match. They were the better team for the first 60 minutes or so, but not by much and were vastly outplayed by Zidane’s outfit in the last half an hour. It could have been 1-3 or even 1-4 for Real Madrid. However, 30 poor minutes of football don’t mean much when we are talking about a team that proved it’s dominance time and time again this season.
Atletico Madrid bounced back after a 1-2 loss in Gijon with a solid 5-1 home victory over Betis Sevilla. It was the best match in recent weeks for Simeone’s side, as Atletico has not been very impressive lately. They lost that match in Gijon and played rather poorly in the UCL Round 16 double against PSV, qualifying via penalties after 210 goalless minutes of football.
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Team news & lineups:
Mathieu, Adriano and Sandro Ramirez will not be available for the home team. Atletico Madrid won’t be able to count on Tiago, while Carrasco, Godin and Gimenez are doubtful. Carrasco will probably be on the bench at best, while Gimenez and Godin are likely to be forced in the starting lineup – or at least one of them.
FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Juanfran, Godin, Gimenez, Luis – Niguez, Gabi, Fernandez, Koke – Griezmann, Torres
I backed Barcelona to defeat Real Madrid over the weekend and I was feeling good about that bet for the first 60 minutes, but in the end it proved to be a mistake. However, I will bet on Barcelona again.
A team like Barcelona almost never plays two poor matches in a row and I can see them bouncing back with an improved display in this match. Neymar and Suarez were rather disappointing over the weekend, so I expect them to have something to say in this one – especially as Atletico’s regular center backs, Godin and Gimenez, are struggling for fitness.
Atletico Madrid is obviously a team that can’t be underestimated but they have not found much success against Barca. Atleti has the style to frustrate Real Madrid and other big teams, but against Barcelona the Head 2 Head is horrible for Atletico, as they lost 6 matches in a row. Atleti also lost 8 of the last 9 meetings at Camp Nou, where they have not won since 2006.
With the above factors in mind, I expect the hosts to recover quickly after the El Clasico loss and win this game. I`m sure Simeone’s Atletico won’t be too devastated with a 2-1 loss, so that’s worth taking into account as well.
My tip is Barcelona to win straight up. The odds might not be high, but I consider them fair and I will not be greedy with handicaps. Prediction: FC Barcelona – Atletico Madrid 3-1.
Pick: FC Barcelona
Odds: 1.53 @ 1xBet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 4.77
Event date: 5 April
