Barca and Atletico dey clash for La Liga as Champions League quarterfinal dey loom

Na big wahala dey for Spanish football as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid go lock horn for La Liga match dis Saturday, April 4, 2026. The game go hold for Riyadh Air Metropolitano for Madrid, and na 3 p.m. ET time dem fix am. But dis match na just small tins compared to wetin dey come.

See, dis two teams go face each other five times for inside two months. Dem don already meet for Copa del Rey semifinal for February and March, where Atletico carry di day 4-3 on aggregate. Now dem dey prepare for Champions League quarterfinal wey go start Wednesday for Barcelona, den April 14 for Madrid. Na like dem dey warm up for main event.

For La Liga table, Barcelona dey top with 73 points from 24 wins, one draw, and four losses. Dem dey lead Real Madrid by four points. Atletico dey fourth with 57 points from 17 wins, six draws, and six losses. Villarreal dey third with 58 points, just one point ahead of Atletico. So dis match fit shake di table well well.

Barcelona dey miss Raphinha for dis match. Di forward injure hamstring while playing for Brazil against France friendly, and e go sideline for about five weeks. Na bad news for Barca because Raphinha score two goals for dia 7-2 win over Newcastle for Champions League round of 16. E no go fit play against Atletico for quarterfinal too.

Atletico dey come from 3-2 loss to Real Madrid before international break. Di game-winning goal come from penalty for 72nd minute. But dem still dey fight to overtake Villarreal for third place. Real Madrid go play against relegation-threatened Mallorca earlier on Saturday.

Other matches for La Liga dis weekend include Real Betis vs Espanyol. Espanyol never win any match dis year—12 games don pass. Sevilla fire coach Matías Almeyda before break, and dem go visit last-placed Oviedo on Sunday. Sevilla only win one of dia last eight matches.

For players to watch, Real Madrid forwards Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior face each other for Brazil-France friendly during break. Mbappé, wey be La Liga top scorer, score once for France 2-1 win over Brazil. Vinícius no score and people criticize am for poor performance, even though e score two goals for Madrid against Atletico before break.

Barcelona star Lamine Yamal dey face wahala off di field. For Spain friendly against Egypt for Tuesday for Barcelona, Spanish fans dey chant anti-Muslim songs. Yamal, wey be Muslim, come out with statement say di chants disrespectful and intolerable. E say even if dem no direct am at am personally, using religion as taunt on field make fans look ignorant and racist.

How to watch di match? For TV, na ESPN Deportes for USA and SuperSport for Nigeria. For online streaming, get ESPN+ for USA, Disney Plus for UK, FanCode for India, DAZN for Spain, and others. Free trials dey for DIRECTV and Fubo TV, while Sling dey offer first-month discount.

Referee for di match na Mateo Busquets Ferrer, and VAR na Mario Melero López. Di venue, Riyadh Air Metropolitano, na home ground for Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, for Monday match, Girona go host Villarreal. Villarreal dey third with 58 points, while Girona dey 14th with five points above relegation zone. Villarreal win dia last match 3-1 over Real Sociedad, while Girona lose 1-0 to Osasuna before break. Girona go miss Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ricard Artero, Bryan Gil, Juan Carlos, Portu, and Donny van de Beek through injury. Cristhian Stuani dey doubtful with muscular problem. Villarreal go miss Pau Cabanes, Logan Costa, and Juan Foyth. Ayoze Perez dey doubtful.

Possible lineup for Girona: Gazzaniga; Rincon, Reis, Blind, Martinez; Beltran, Witsel; Tsygankov, Ounahi, Lemar; Vanat. For Villarreal: Junior; Mourino, Navarro, Veiga, Pedraza; Pepe, Comesana, Gueye, Moleiro; Moreno, Mikautadze. Prediction na Girona 1-2 Villarreal.

Back to Barcelona vs Atletico, di match go show who get better preparation for Champions League quarterfinal. Barcelona dey try make e reach semifinal for second season straight, while Atletico dey find way to return to last four since 2017. With five meetings for short time, every match go dey like final.