Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will put aside their quest for this year’s La Liga title to go head-to-head in an all-Spanish UEFA Champions League quarterfinal fixture on Tuesday. The four-time European champions Barca are favored over relative novices Atletico at home, but the Catalan club has yet to beat the other Madrid team in multiple tries this season.
Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid Champions League First Leg Betting Preview
When: Tuesday April 1, 2014, 2:45 EST
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona
Line: Atletico Madrid +1 (+105) at Barcelona -1 (-125); total 3.0 – view lines here
Betting on Barcelona
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Barcelona was handed one of the tougher draws in the Round of 16, but the Catalan side showed their quality en route to winning both legs against English powerhouse Manchester City. Lionel Messi was on target in both games, upping his tally to eight goals in the competition.
Barca has won its last four games in La Liga, including a huge 4-3 win over fierce rivals Real Madrid. Messi scored two hat-tricks and eight goals in those three games, and seems to be getting whatever he wants on the pitch these days. However, Barca will be without first-choice goalkeeper Victor Valdes for the rest of the season after he tore his ACL.
The Blaugrana are a perfect 4-0-0 at the Camp Nou in the Champions League this season and are undefeated (five wins and one draw) in their last six quarterfinal home legs.
Betting on Atletico
Atletico Madrid made short work of AC Milan in the Round of 16 to make its first ever Champions League quarterfinal. Atletico won 5-1 on aggregate, with star striker Diego Costa netting three goals. Costa is fourth in the tournament’s scoring charts with seven goals, just one behind Lionel Messi.
All three league games Atletico has lost this season have come away from home. However, it’s still undefeated in the Champions League with three wins and one draw.
Atletico has faced Barcelona three times already this season, twice in the Spanish Super Cup and once in La Liga. It held Barcelona to a draw in each occasion and conceded just one goal in total.
Prediction
Messi looks to be back to his magical self, which doesn’t bode well for Atletico. The Argentinian maestro should give Barca the advantage heading into the away leg next week.
