Atletico Madrid: Diego Godin among injured trio set to return for Barcelona showdown

Diego Godin, Stefan Savic and Yannick Carrasco are all expected to be in Atletico Madrid's squad to face Barcelona on 5 April, after the injured trio returned to training. Vice captain Godin has been out of action for three weeks with a hamstring injury, while Savic and Carrasco have been missing with toe and ankle complaints respectively.

However, the trio took part in a full training session on 3 April and are set to travel to Catalonia for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona. Question marks remain over the fitness of Jesus Gamez, who suffered a knock in training, while Luciano Vietto is also a doubt after suffering a bout of gastroenteritis.

Uruguayan defender Jose Gimenez is likely to sit out the trip to Barcelona with a hamstring problem, while midfielders Tiago and Oliver Torres are also sidelined.

Heavyweight duel

The all-Spanish tie between Barcelona and Atletico is a rematch of the Champions League quarter-final between the same teams in the 2013/14 season, which the Madrid club won 2-1 on aggregate. However, Barca prevailed 2-1 in both league meetings against Atletico this season.

Simeone said his team was fully focused on the Barcelona match after thrashing Real Betis 5-1 at home on 2 April.

"All matches against [Barca] are different and we'll prepare for it in the best way possible," he was quoted as saying by Football Espana. "We must continue insisting [on results] and working hard so we can enter the last five [league] games with the hope of fighting Barca.

"The Copa del Rey and Champions League are very important but the fans live for these episodes. The tournament which offers stability and is read about every day in the newspapers is the league."

Barcelona have a six-point lead over Atletico in La Liga with seven games left to play in the season.