Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona Prediction and Betting Tips: Goals galore on Sunday

Fellow Champions League quarter-finalists Atletico Madrid and Barcelona lock horns in a tasty top-four La Liga fixture, live on ITV4 at 8pm on Sunday.

A dramatic second UCL penalty shootout in the space of two days saw Atletico edge out last season's runners-up Inter to book a quarter-final dance with Dortmund in a few weeks time.

Elsewhere, Barcelona fired three past Napoli to complete a 4-2 aggregate victory over the Italians to establish a future meeting with PSG in the final eight of the competition.

Predicted XIs

Atletico Madrid (3-5-2) Oblak; Llorente, Paulista, Witsel; Vermeeren, Saul, Koke, Rodrigo De Paul, Lino; Morata, Griezmann.

Barcelona (4-3-3) ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Gundogan, Christensen, Lopez; Yamal, Guiu, Felix.

With both Atletico and Barcelona only having 10 league games remaining, Sunday's match could be a good yardstick for determining who finishes above the other come May.

Diego Simeone's men are clearly more suited to playing in front of their own fans having gone unbeaten here all season in the league, and they will relish this opportunity to bridge the gap to just three points with a victory.

The hosts have scored two or more in eight of their past 10 home matches, with seven of these fixtures seeing 3+ total goals. This venue has also been a profitable one for BTTS backers, who've enjoyed a 71.4% strike rate as Atletico have netted in every single La Liga contest staged on home soil.

Compare this to Barcelona's stats and we could have a real thriller on our hands. Xavi's side have themselves scored 2+ in 17 of their past 28 matches across all competitions, with only three of their 13 away league games failing to produce a goal for both teams.

For something at a bigger price we're pitching two of Atletico's top dogs finding themselves entered into the referee's book on Sunday.

Mario Hermoso is his side's most carded player, holding seven in 23 La Liga games this season, as well as 12 in 36 across all competitions. The Spaniard, whose contract is set to expire at the end of the season and will have plenty of suitors keeping tabs, is the central pillar to Atletico's back three and is set to have his work cut out for him going toe-to-toe with a front three who've helped Barca fire 57 in 28 as the division's third-highest scorers. It also helps that he has been booked in matches against Madrid and Girona - two teams above Atletico in the pecking order.

Koke, the other target in our double, has picked up four yellows in 25 league affairs, however, that doubles when factoring in games from European and cup competitions. Atletico's captain was carded inside 38 minutes at Barcelona's temporary home of the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium, where Xavi triumphed over Simeone 1-0.

That booking was just the latest in quite an eye-catching stat regarding Koke's appearances against Barcelona. The midfielder has picked up 12 career yellows against the Catalonian outfit, with four of those being brandished in his most recent six outings.