Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona Champions League quarterfinal second leg prediction, odds, expert best bets

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Atletico Madrid and Barcelona go into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday, April 14 with Atletico holding a 2-0 lead after the first leg. The hosts will likely be able to settle into their typical defensive style of play while Barcelona will need to lean on a powerful attack which has tallied 84 goals in 31 La Liga games.

Kickoff from Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid is set for 3 p.m. ET and soccer fans can catch the action live on Paramount+. Barcelona are -120 favorites on the 90-minute money line while Atletico Madrid are +270 in the latest Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. A draw comes in at +330 and the total is set at 3.5 (Over -115, Under -110). You can take a look at the latest Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model but before making any wagers, you need to see what SportsLine soccer expert Martin Green is betting on Tuesday's match.

After working in the sports betting industry for several years, Green became a professional sports writer and handicapper and has covered the game worldwide. Last year, Green was profitable in multiple areas on his soccer betting picks, including Euro qualifying (+6.30 units), EFL Cup (+4.47), FA Cup (+3.07) and Champions League (+3.05), among others. Anyone who follows him could be way up.

Here are Green's best bets and analysis for Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona on Tuesday, April 14.

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona best bets

• Barcelona money line (-120): 1u
• Robert Lewandowski to score (+125): 0.5u

Barcelona will try to overturn a two-goal deficit when they face Atlético Madrid for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash on Tuesday. The Blaugrana suffered a bruising 2-0 defeat when these teams met at the Camp Nou last week. They were dominating the game, but defender Pau Cubarsi was sent off after bringing Atlético Madrid forward Giuliano Simeone in the 45th minute. Julián Alvarez fired in the resulting free kick, leaving Los Rojiblancos 1-0 up at halftime. Barça continued to dominate possession in the second half but they couldn't find a breakthrough, and substitute Alexander Sørloth doubled Atlético's advantage in the 70th minute. Los Rojiblancos are now firmly in command of this two-leg contest, but they will have to withstand a barrage of attacks from Barcelona's forwards on Tuesday.

Atletico flourish in knockout competitions

Barcelona returned to winning ways when they hosted local rivals Espanyol at the Camp Nou on Saturday. Ferran Torres scored twice, and late goals from Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford wrapped up a 4-1 victory. That result left the Blaugrana nine points clear of their closest rivals Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league table. They're 22 points ahead of Atlético Madrid, which highlights the gulf in quality between these teams. Barcelona beat Atlético Madrid in both of their league meetings this season. It finished 3-1 to Barça when they met at Camp Nou in December, and 2-1 to Barça when they renewed hostilities in Madrid last month.

However, Atlético often excel in knockout competitions. That was evident when they beat Barcelona over two legs in the Copa del Rey semifinals earlier this year. It finished 4-0 to Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. Barcelona won the second leg 3-0, but they ultimately lost 4-3 on aggregate. They will be desperate to avoid being eliminated from another competition by Atlético but they have a mountain to climb in Tuesday's second leg. The club complained to UEFA about the refereeing decisions in last week's defeat, arguing that they should have been awarded a penalty, but they only have themselves to blame. Cubarsí was reckless when bringing down Simeone and the forwards were misfiring, so they'll need to play much better if they're to turn this clash around.

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Can Yamal lead his team to victory?

Atlético Madrid lost 2-1 to Sevilla at the weekend, but manager Diego Simeone rested most of his key players for that game. He knows they have no chance of winning the league, so he wanted to keep the likes of Álvarez, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman, and his son Giuliano fresh for the Tuesday's game. Los Rojiblancos have an excellent home record this season: 13 wins, one draw, and just two defeats from 16 league games at the Metropolitano. However, Barça have the best away record in La Liga, so this contest isn't over. Barça are the top scoring team in the league with 84 goals in 31 games. Atlético's defense, which was once the most formidable in Europe, is vulnerable these days, so Barcelona still look capable of overhauling that two-goal deficit. They boast a star-studded attack, featuring the likes of Yamal, Rashford, Torres, Dani Olmo, and Robert Lewandowski.

Torres started up front against Espanyol, so Lewandowski should return to the starting lineup for this game. He'll benefit from strong service from Yamal and Olmo, so the odds on him scoring look appealing. Barça have scored 10 goals in five games against Atlético in all competitions this season - a rate of two per match - which shows that they have the potential to turn this around. However, they will need to take risks, commit men forward and attack from the first whistle, which could leave them vulnerable to Atlético's pace on the counterattack. It's poised to be an entertaining game and Barça could ultimately win, even if they end up losing on aggregate.

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