Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will face each other this Saturday at the Wanda Metropolitano in the 30th round of La Liga, kicking off a decisive series that will include three matches in ten days and five clashes in less than two months. The match serves as a preview of the Champions League quarter-finals, with the first leg on Wednesday in Barcelona and the return leg on April 14 in Madrid. Hansi Flick's side aims to reach the semi-finals for the second consecutive year, while Diego Simeone's team seeks to return to that stage for the first time since 2017. In La Liga, Barcelona leads with 73 points and aims to maintain a lead of at least four points over Real Madrid, who will visit Mallorca after defeating Atletico 3-2 before the international break. Atletico Madrid, 16 points off the top, needs a win to reclaim third place, being one point behind Villarreal. The Madrid side arrives with good home results, having beaten Real Sociedad and Getafe. Barcelona comes off a win over Rayo Vallecano with a goal from Araujo. In the Copa del Rey, the most recent precedent was in March, with a 3-0 win for Barcelona, although Atletico advanced to the final with a 4-3 aggregate score. In February, at the Metropolitano, the red-and-white team thrashed 4-0 with goals from Griezmann, Lookman, Julian Alvarez, and an own goal from Eric Garcia. La Liga already started this afternoon with a 1-0 win for Rayo Vallecano at home against Elche.
