Barcelona hosts Atlético Madrid in Copa del Rey semifinal first leg

Barcelona is set to host Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, with the hosts aiming to win the competition for the first time since the 2020/21 season. Barcelona has cruised to this stage with three victories by at least four-goal margins, including a 5-0 thrashing of Valencia in the quarter-finals.

Hosting the first leg could give Barcelona an advantage, considering they are unbeaten in their last five matches at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. However, Atlético Madrid did beat them 2-1 at the same venue in La Liga in December. Barcelona will be looking to draw inspiration from their previous home wins against Atlético, having won the last three home H2Hs.

Atlético Madrid comes into this encounter on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions. They defeated Valencia 3-0 on Saturday to briefly top La Liga before Barcelona overtook them with a 2-0 win over Las Palmas. Los Colchoneros have comfortably progressed to this stage, with their first four victories in the competition coming away from home.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal has been in impressive form, completing the scoring after the 55th minute in their last two Copa outings. He also remains unbeaten in two prior appearances against Atlético. Meanwhile, Atlético’s Alexander Sørloth has scored in his side’s last two domestic cup games and has netted twice after the 80th minute across their last four fixtures in all competitions.

The match promises to be an exciting encounter, with both teams having impressive attacking records. Barcelona has scored inside 25 minutes in all three of their Copa matches this term, while Atlético has netted from the 75th minute onwards in four of their five.

The winner of this semifinal tie will face either Osasuna or Athletic Bilbao in the final. With both Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in strong form, the match is expected to be a closely contested and thrilling encounter.