Five things to know about FC Barcelona v Atlético Madrid

Barça and Atlético Madrid meet this Tuesday at 9.30pm CET at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, with the Catalans chasing a place in the showpiece final for the first time since 2021.

History in Barça's favour

Things have generally tipped the blaugrana way in the cup, for the last three times the sides have met, each time over two legs, Barça have always progressed. Do it again, and Barça will have advanced four consecutive times against the mattress makers for the first time ever.

Matched for goals

The joint top scorers in the competition so far are Ferran Torres of Barça and Julián Álvarez of Atlético with four each, while Sorloth of Atlético is just behind with three. Those players are sure to have an eye on each other in their battle to be top scorer in the 2024/25 Copa del Rey.

High scorers

Both sides have been racking up some big wins in the competition so far. Barça have seen off Barbastro, Betis and Valencia by a combined total of 14 goals scored with just one conceded, always winning by a margin of at least four goals.

Atlético entered the competition two rounds earlier, but in total have so far scored 15 goals and, like Barça, conceded just one.

Only four 'survivors'

Barça and Atlético are meeting in the cup for the first time since 2016-17, and only Ter Stegen remains from the Barça team that played then, and he won't be playing due to his long-term injury. In contrast, three of the Atlético squad are still there, namely Koke, Correa and Griezmann (the latter, of course, having had a spell at Barça in between).

Broken streak

Diego Simeone is another old-timer from those games, having coached Atlético since December 2011. He had played 18 games away to Barça across that period without a single win, but finally managed to end the negative run when his side was victorious in the league last December, winning 2-1 at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.