Copa Del Rey: Barcelona’s Mountain To Climb

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid

If ever there was a Copa del Rey semi-final clash which had the look of being over at the half way stage this one, Barcelona against Atletico Madrid, looks to be it.  

Atleti slaughtered the Blaugrana in the first leg thanks to a first half flurry of goals, leading 4-0 at half time, and they saw out that result at the Wanda Metropolitano; so when the two clubs meet at the Spotify Camp Nou on Tuesday, the hosts are really up against it.  

Barcelona will be without centre back Eric Garcia, who saw red in Madrid but when they get back to business in the second leg, Hansi Flick’s men, at 11 versus 11 and with their 12^th man in the stands, will start the game believing they can win. If they get an early goal and the home crowd responds, then it will be game on, but that is easier said than done against Diego Simeone’s well drilled side.

Both teams come into the game on the back of a Primera Division win, each impressive in their own way. While Barcelona swept top four side Villarreal away in a 4-1 victory, Los Rojiblancos ground out a 1-0 win away to bottom club Real Oviedo.

This promises to be a hectic and fascinating clash; it won’t be a one sided exercise but only one team needs to go on all out attack.  

 

Talking Points

Raphinha insists this is not over

Barcelona’s 2025 player of the year, Raphinha, has been out injured for some time, but he’s back and firing and hoping to feature heavily in the Copa del Rey 2026 highlights this week. And the Brazil star has issued a rallying cry to his team-mates, saying that, if anyone can turn over a four goal deficit, Barcelona is that team.

Raphinha says his team-mates are in the right frame of mind, and they certainly looked it during their sinking of the Yellow Submarine, as 18 year old Lamine Yamal helped himself to a hat-trick and the evergreen Robert Lewandowski grabbed a fourth. “We are confident of playing a good match,” said the flying winger. “We believe we are capable of doing it. We know the match will be difficult, a very complicated turnaround, but I believe we are prepared for what awaits us.       

When Barcelona faced Villarreal on Saturday I predicted a tough challenge but the Blaugrana were imperious, and they sit top of the Primera Division. Alongside Raphinha, Lewi and Yamal, Barca have Marc Bernal, Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez all primed to prize open the Atleti defence and the visitors will need to be at their best.   

 

Experience can see Atleti through

With such a huge advantage after the first leg, the Copa del Rey 2026 betting odds are squarely behind Los Rojiblancos to finish the job in Barcelona. The fans in the Camp Nou will do all they can to give their team an advantage but the visitors have an experienced manager and plenty of stars who have been around the block; with big players at either end of the pitch. Captained by goalkeeper Jan Oblak , the defence is marshalled by the Atleti stalwart Jose Gimenez, who learned his trade from the legendary Diego Godin. And Gimenez sits alongside the excellent Robin le Normand, bought last year from Real Sociedad.

Up front Los Rojiblancos have the playmaker Antoine Griezmann, though the French artist may well start on the bench with Alex Baena and Ademola Lookman supporting strikers Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth. Argentine star Alvarez scored the late winner against Oviedo on Saturday while Lookman has been impressive since his switch from Atalanta, and Sorloth was lethal in Atletico’s destruction of Club Brugge.

This is a team with plenty of firepower, more than some of Simeone’s line-ups from the past, and they know that if they can grab a goal it will make things even harder for their hosts, getting closer to impossible. 

 

History

Barcelona have dominated the head to head results in this relationship of two of Europe’s biggest clubs, with 33 wins to 13; and at the Spotify Nou Camp the Catalans have won 18 to Atleti’s four. 

Both teams have been a little inconsistent since the turn of the new year, each losing two of their last seven La Liga games and while Barca had a week off last week, having qualified automatically for the Champions League knockout phase, Atletico won their Champions League clash against Club Brugge as Sorloth scored a hat-trick.     

 

Betting Tip

With Barca at SBOTOP odds of 1.67, Atleti at 4.75 and the draw at 4.50 we expect the Blaugrana to close the gap at the Camp Nou Stadium, and they will certainly be on the front foot from the first whistle. I expect goals and, while Simeone will set his side up to be difficult to beat, the visitors have a serious attacking threat themselves and a clean sheet, while crucial to Barca’s hopes, will be very difficult to keep.

   

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