Atlético Madrid face a 1-0 deficit against Barcelona as they enter the second leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal match on Wednesday. Atléti came close to keeping the tie scoreless in the first leg, but an 84th minute penalty allowed Lionel Messi to give his side a lead.
Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch the Copa del Rey online
Can Barca hold on to their lead from the first leg to advance past Los Colchoneros?
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images
There’s every reason to believe that Atléti can make a comeback at home, but to do it, they’ll have to open up their tight system just a bit in order to create some chances. That doesn’t mean that Diego Simeone will ask his side to do something drastically different, they simply need to take a few chances to get the all important equalizer.
In their last league meeting, Barca shredded Aléti from the start and took advantage of Simeone’s players getting frustrated. The first leg last week was a much different match, but that 3-1 Blaugrana win back on January 11 has planted the seed in minds that Barca can take apart the Colchoneros.
Barcelona are likely to be without Jeremy Mathieu who continues to struggle with an achilles injury. Atléti’s defense will be weakened by Diego Godin’s suspension, while Koke and Tiago will also miss out due to injury.
There’s also some questions about Luis Suárez’s status after he was benched over the weekend in Barca’s win over Elche. Luis Enrique has made it clear in the media he believes in the striker, but some believe the team is more effective with just two of their three big strikers on the pitch at the same time.
Barcelona injuries and suspensions
Out: Jeremy Mathieu (achilles), Thomas Vermaelen (hamstring).
Atlético Madrid injuries and suspensions
Out: Diego Godin (suspended), Koke (hamstring), Tiago (ribs), Cristian Ansaldi (knock)
Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 9 p.m. local, 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain
TV: beIN Sports (U.S. - English), beIN Sports en Español (U.S. - Spanish), beIN Sports (Canada), Sky Sports 5 (U.K.), Canal+ 1/HD/30 (Spain)
Online: beIN Sports CONNECT (U.S. & Canada), Sky Go (U.K.)
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