How will Barcelona line up against Atlético Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals?

Barcelona continue their hectic schedule with a monster Copa del Rey semi-final second leg as the Blaugrana travel to the capital to meet Atlético Madrid at the Estadio Metropolitano with a spot in the title match on the line.

These two played out an insane 4-4 draw in Montjuïc in the first leg five weeks ago but have had a more recent encounter in La Liga since, with Barça coming back from a two-goal deficit in the final 20 minutes to win 4-2 and stun the Metropolitano. And if they get a monster result in front of the Atlético crowd again, they’ll book a spot in the Final in Seville against either Real Madrid or Real Sociedad.

Here’s how we think Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Wednesday’s battle.

Defense

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Flick rotated his squad heavily on Sunday’s win over Girona to ensure he’d have as many fully fit players as possible for this one, and we expect the coach to go all out with his strongest possible side in Madrid.

Wojciech Szczesny will remain in goal looking to extend his incredible unbeaten streak since taking over as the club’s number one, and he might get to show off his penalty saving chops as well if this one goes all the way to spot kicks.

The back four will have Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde in their usual full-back spots, and three players will fight for two center-back spots between Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez and Ronald Araujo, who we think will sit on the bench for this one.

Midfield

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Eric García had a fantastic performance in midfield at the weekend and formed a very interesting trio with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong that might be revisited more often in future matches, but we think Flick will stick with his usual pivot of Frenkie and Pedri for such a crucial game.

That leaves a spot open at the number 10 position with Gavi and Fermín López fighting over it, and there’s really no wrong choice here. We think Gavi will win that battle and Fermín will come off the bench, but it could easily be the other way around.

Attack

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Raphinha was somewhat surprisingly left on the bench for the entirety of the Girona match and Flick suggested after the game that the Brazilian was carrying a slight knock from his Brazil exploits, but nothing suggests he will be missing this one and he’s expected to start in the front three.

Lamine Yamal will apparently never get a night off and this one requires his participation once again, and he might very well have to go the full 120 minutes just 10 days after playing extra time with Spain. Robert Lewandowski doesn’t have to worry about extra minutes and will be ready to go the whole way, looking to continue his amazing season with a big night in the capital to send Barça to the title game.

Possible XI: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsí, Iñigo, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)

How do you think Barcelona should line up against Atlético? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!