As the crunch time of the season arrives in the Champions League, the absences through injury and suspension are piling up. Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid all go into their European quarter-finals knowing that if they do get to the next round, they could be without a number of key players.
As desperation rises, the temptation to commit a cynical foul or leave a little more in every challenge follows. If Atletico or Barcelona make it through their clash, they will face one of Arsenal or Sporting CP in the final four. Meanwhile should Real Madrid pull off a comeback on Wednesday against Bayern Munich, they will meet one of Paris Saint-Germain or Liverpool.
Advertisement
Atletico Madrid – 8 players
Diego Simeone has the most to worry about in terms of suspensions, say Diario AS, although Thiago Almada, Alex Baena and Giuliano Simeone should have an easier job of avoiding such issues. Pablo Barrios is injured still, and thus won’t face any issues. Atletico’s likely starting back four (Matteo Ruggeri, Clement Lenglet, Robin Le Normand and Marcos Llorente) are all a booking away from a ban. Marc Pubill is suspended for their return leg against Barcelona.
Barcelona – 5 players
Lamine Yamal survived the first leg at Camp Nou without a yellow card, but remains just one among many. Fermin Lopez, Gerard Martin and Marc Casado were in the same situation last week, but now Joao Cancelo has been added to their cohort, after seeing a yellow in the first leg. It was Pau Cubarsi who saw red though, and he will miss the return leg.
Real Madrid – 5 players
Los Blancos are still crossing their fingers that they can navigate past Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior makes for all four of Real Madrid’s attacking starters being the same situation, although Rodrygo is injured and will not feature. In their backline, Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras must also watch their step. It is Aurelien Tchouameni currently serving a ban after one too many bookings.
Read the full article here
