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2 hours ago
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In a little over an hour, FC Barcelona will battle it out with Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final clash at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Atletico Madrid got the better of Barça the last time these two teams met in La Liga and the Catalans will be intent on avoiding a repeat of that result and hope to get an advantage heading into the second leg at the Metropolitano in April.
Ahead of kickoff, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has announced the starting lineup with some changes made to the team that took the field against Las Palmas this past weekend.
The big news is that Lamine Yamal starts in attack despite there being concerns about his fitness after he missed training on Monday.
Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski has been replaced by Ferran Torres in the No. 9 position, with Raphinha completing the attacking trident for the hosts.
As for the other changes, Inigo Martinez returns to the team, replacing Eric Garcia as Pau Cubarsi’s centre-back partner while Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde continue as the full-backs.
Wojciech Szczesny starts in goal again, with Inaki Pena fully relegated to the bench even for the cup competition.
Meanwhile, in midfield, Frenkie de Jong makes his way back into the lineup, at the expense of Marc Casado, who seems to have fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks.
Pedri retains his spot in the double pivot for Barcelona while Dani Olmo replaces Fermin Lopez as the No. 10.
🚨 BARÇA XI 🚨#BarçaAtleti pic.twitter.com/MeFqxycPES
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 25, 2025
