Barcelona bid to turn tables on Atlético

Long-time opponents in Spanish football, FC Barcelona and Club Atlético de Madrid will transport their rivalry to the European stage for the second time in three seasons when they meet in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Previous meetings
• The teams' sole previous European tie came at the same stage of the 2013/14 competition. Then, as now, the first leg was at the Camp Nou, where Neymar's 71st-minute strike cancelled out Diego's 56th-minute opener for Atlético.

• The teams on 1 April 2014 were:
Barcelona: Pinto, Alves, Piqué (Bartra 12), Mascherano, Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Fàbregas (Alexis Sánchez 68), Iniesta, Messi, Neymar.
Atlético: Courtois, Juanfran, Godín, Miranda, Filipe Luís, Gabi, Tiago, Arda Turan (Rodríguez 77), Koke, Villa (Sosa 71), Diego Costa (Diego 30).

• A week later, a fifth-minute goal from Koke was enough to give Atlético a 1-0 win and a place in the semi-finals – ending Barça's six-year run of reaching the semi-final or better. Atlético are the only team to prevent Barça from reaching the semi-finals in the past eight seasons and one of only three clubs to have eliminated them in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final: Paris Saint-Germain (1994/95) and Juventus (2002/03) are the others.

• The teams at the Vicente Calderón on 9 April 2014 were:
Atlético: Courtois, Juanfran, Godín, Miranda, Filipe Luís, Gabi, Tiago, Koke, Adrián López (Diego 62), Raúl García, Villa (Rodríguez 79).
Barcelona: Pinto, Alves, Bartra, Mascherano, Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta (Pedro 72), Fàbregas (Alexis Sánchez 61), Messi, Neymar.

• Atlético are the only team to prevent Barça from reaching the semi-finals in the past eight seasons and one of only three clubs to have eliminated them in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final, along with Paris Saint-Germain in 1994/95 and Juventus in 2002/03.

• Barça won both league meetings between the teams this season 2-1. Diego Godín and Filipe Luís were sent off in the game at the Camp Nou on 30 January. Koke opened the scoring for Atlético, but Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez turned the game in the Blaugrana's favour.

• Atlético clinched the 2014 Liga title at the Camp Nou on the final day of the season, Godín cancelling out an Alexis Sánchez strike to give the visitors their first championship since 1996.

Match background

Barcelona
• In the quarter-finals for the ninth season in a row, Barcelona recorded their tenth successive UEFA Champions League home win with a 3-1 defeat of Arsenal FC in the round of 16 second leg. The last team to avoid UEFA Champions League defeat at Barcelona was Atlético in 2013/14.

• Their last home reverse in the competition was the 3-0 loss to FC Bayern München in May 2013 – their only defeat in their last 37 UEFA Champions League home matches, of which 30 have been victories.

• Barcelona's European Cup quarter-final record is W14 L3.

• Barcelona have already got the better of Spanish opposition in European competition this season, defeating Sevilla FC 5-4 to win the UEFA Super Cup in Tbilisi in August.

• The Blaugrana lost to Sevilla in the 2006 UEFA Super Cup at Monaco's Stade Louis II. Overall, their record against Spanish sides in UEFA competition is P22 W6 D6 L10; at home it is W4 D3 L3.

• In two-legged ties against fellow Liga sides, Barcelona's record is W4 L6.

• Barcelona have hosted Atlético 109 times in all competitions with a record of 63 wins, 19 defeats and 27 draws.

Atlético
• This is the third season running that Atlético have reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals – and they have faced Spanish opposition on each occasion.

• Having got the better of Barcelona in 2014, Atlético lost to neighbours Real Madrid CF in the last eight 12 months ago, Madrid's Javier Hernández scoring the only goal of the tie with two minutes left of the second leg at the Santiago Bernábeu.

• Madrid had also overcome Atlético in the 2014 final, running out 4-1 winners after extra time in Lisbon.

• Atlético's away record in this season's competition is W2 D2. They beat PSV Eindhoven on penalties in the round of 16, a tie that was the first to finish goalless over two legs in the UEFA Champions League era and the second year in succession Diego Simeone's side had won their last-16 contest on spot kicks following their 2015 defeat of Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

• The Rojiblancos are in the quarter-finals of the European Cup for the eighth time and are seeking a fifth place in the semi-finals.

• Atlético have won seven and lost six of their 17 European games against fellow Spanish sides.

Coach and player links
• As a player for Sevilla and Atlético, Diego Simeone faced Luis Enrique, first of Real Madrid then Barcelona, 11 times. Luis Enrique won six games, Simeone two, and there were three draws.

• As a player, Simeone's record in Liga matches against Barcelona with Sevilla and Atlético was P7 W1 D3 L3. His only goal against Barça came in a 5-2 defeat for Sevilla in 1994, although he did help Atlético beat Barcelona in the 1996 Copa del Rey final.

• As a coach, his record against the Blaugrana is P15 W1 D5 L9.

• Lionel Messi has scored 25 goals in 28 games against Atlético, including three hat-tricks. No other player has scored more against Atlético.

• Fernando Torres has scored ten times against Barcelona in 14 matches. Nine of those goals came for Atlético, while he struck for Chelsea FC in a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou in the 2012 UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg.

• International team-mates:
Spain: Andrés Iniesta, Marc Bartra, Jordi Alba, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto & Koke and Juanfran.
Uruguay: Luis Suárez & Diego Godín

• Koke was part of Spain's winning team at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship along with Marc Bartra, Martín Montoya and Cristian Tello.

• Bartra made his senior Barcelona debut in a 2-1 defeat at Atlético in February 2010.

• Arda Turan joined Barcelona last summer after four years at Atlético, where he won the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the UEFA Europa League, the Copa del Rey and the Liga title.

• Also played for both clubs: David Villa, Julio Alberto, Sergi Barjuán, Simão Sabrosa, Bernd Schuster, Eusebio Sacristán, Julio Salinas, Miguel Reina, Thiago Motta.

• Coached both clubs: Luis Aragonés, César Luis Menotti, Radomir Antić.

Match facts

Barcelona
• Barcelona's Spanish record 39-match unbeaten run in all competitions since a 2-1 loss to Sevilla on 3 October, which included 32 wins, was ended when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Real Madrid on Saturday.

• Messi, Suárez and Neymar have scored 107 club goals between them in all competitions this season.

• Messi brought up a half-century of goals for Argentina with a penalty as the Albiceleste defeated Bolivia 2-0 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on 29 March. His senior career total is 499.

• On the same evening, half-time substitute Jérémy Mathieu sustained a knee injury in France's 4-2 victory over Russia.

• On 25 March, Suárez scored for Uruguay against a Brazil side featuring Atlético defender Filipe Luís. The World Cup qualifier in Recife ended 2-2.

• Sergi Roberto made his senior Spain debut in the 0-0 friendly draw against Romania on 27 March.

• Rafinha (knee), injured on matchday one, was ruled out for six months after undergoing surgery on 22 September.

Atlético
• Atlético's nine-game unbeaten run ended with a 2-1 loss at Real Sporting de Gijón on 19 March, despite the Rojiblancos taking the lead through Antoine Griezmann.

• Griezmann has scored in eight of his last nine appearances for club and country.

• In contrast, Luciano Vietto has not found the net since matchday six.

• Lucas Hernández (back) and Tiago (leg) are out, while Diego Godín (hamstring), José María Giménez (hamstring), Saúl Ñíguez (ankle) and Yannick Carrasco (ankle) are doubts.

• Matías Kranevitter started and Augusto Fernández came off the bench as Argentina overcame Claudio Bravo's Chile 2-1 on 24 March. Ángel Correa was an unused substitute.