Kounde, Lewandowski start in a 4-2-3-1 – How Barcelona can line up against Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

For the fifth time in the current season, FC Barcelona will lock horns with Atletico Madrid, this time around in the UEFA Champions League.

The first leg of the quarter-finals will kick off at the Spotify Camp Nou later tonight, with Barça going into the game with momentum on their side, after beating the Rojiblancos 2-1 in La Liga this past weekend.

Diego Simeone’s side, though, might have a narrow advantage after the Argentine manager managed to rest and rotate all of his key players over the weekend so as to keep them fresh and ready for tonight’s European encounter.

Despite that, Barcelona will be confident going into the tie, given their exceptional record at the Spotify Camp Nou and the fact that they have beaten Atleti three times out of four already this season.

Hansi Flick, however, will have to make do without key midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who is still not ready for a comeback. Raphinha and Andreas Christensen also remain sidelined and have been joined by teenage prodigy Marc Bernal.

With the second leg to be played at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Barcelona will aim to kill off the tie tonight at home. With that in mind, here’s how Flick could set his team up against the Spanish capital outfit.

Defence

Joan Garcia is an undisputed starter in goal for Barcelona and will continue in his role tonight, hoping to secure a clean sheet that would give his team a big advantage before the second leg.

In defence, Joao Cancelo has firmly emerged as the preferred option at left-back and his vital contribution against Atletico over the weekend should guarantee him another start.

Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin, meanwhile, have established themselves as the first-choice centre-back pairing and that is unlikely to change for the European encounter.

At right-back, though, there is expected to be an alteration, with Jules Kounde, who made his comeback from injury against Atleti last Saturday, set to replace Ronald Araujo. His battle with Ademola Lookman could have a major influence on the result.

Midfield

Pedri and Eric Garcia in midfield again. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

With no Frenkie de Jong and Marc Bernal, and Flick does not have a lot of room to manoeuvre in midfield, even more so given his reluctance to rely heavily on Marc Casado this season.

Pedri, for one, is a guaranteed starter in the centre of the park for Barcelona. And for the second game in a row, the Spanish maestro will be partnered up with Eric Garcia, who will hope to fare better than he did in the league fixture last Saturday.

Fermin Lopez, meanwhile, ought to get the nod as the No. 10 for Barça and will have a key role to play with his intensity and attacking contributions.

Attack

Lamine Yamal is a guaranteed starter on the right flank and will be crucial for Barcelona on the night. However, the youngster must remain disciplined, for a yellow card could get him suspended for the second leg next week – something that Atletico will try to exploit.

On the left side, Marcus Rashford is expected to start again in the absence of Raphinha after finding the back of the net at the weekend.

Even though Dani Olmo started as a false-nine on Saturday against Atleti and performed well, Flick is expected to recall Robert Lewandowski to the lineup tonight after his match-winning strike at the Metropolitano.