Preview: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
The La Liga title race temporarily takes a backseat for El Clasico rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, who lock horns in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final at the Bernabeu on Thursday evening.
Los Blancos defeated city rivals Atletico Madrid 3-1 in the last eight to progress this far, while Xavi’s side needed just the one goal to eliminate Real Sociedad.
With an astounding quadruple still a distinct possibility heading into the spring months, Real Madrid’s trophy cabinet is itching to welcome another Copa del Rey crown, which rather incredibly has not been won by Los Blancos since the 2013-14 campaign.
Cacereno and Villarreal both fell to the superiority of Real Madrid before a stern test versus Atletico awaited in the quarter-finals, where Alvaro Morata would return to haunt his old club, but Rodrygo forced extra time before Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior saved Los Blancos’ bacon.
Another Madrid derby with Los Rojiblancos in La Liga would not be a smooth affair for Carlo Ancelotti’s men either, as breakout teenage star Alvaro Rodriguez endeared himself to the Bernabeu faithful with a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw, which puts Los Blancos seven points behind Barcelona in the La Liga standings.
Barcelona’s shock defeat to Almeria means that there is still a glimmer of hope for Real Madrid, whose five-game winning run in all tournaments was brought to an end on Saturday evening, and a first Copa del Rey semi-final since the 2018-19 campaign now lies in wait.
That year, Real drew the first leg of their semi-final clash with Barcelona 1-1 before bowing out with a 3-0 defeat at the Bernabeu, but with form and fitness concerns working against them, the latest instalment of El Clasico could hardly have come at a worse time for La Blaugrana.With an astounding quadruple still a distinct possibility heading into the spring months, Real Madrid’s trophy cabinet is itching to welcome another Copa del Rey crown, which rather incredibly has not been won by Los Blancos since the 2013-14 campaign.
Cacereno and Villarreal both fell to the superiority of Real Madrid before a stern test versus Atletico awaited in the quarter-finals, where Alvaro Morata would return to haunt his old club, but Rodrygo forced extra time before Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior saved Los Blancos’ bacon.
Another Madrid derby with Los Rojiblancos in La Liga would not be a smooth affair for Carlo Ancelotti’s men either, as breakout teenage star Alvaro Rodriguez endeared himself to the Bernabeu faithful with a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw, which puts Los Blancos seven points behind Barcelona in the La Liga standings.
Barcelona’s shock defeat to Almeria means that there is still a glimmer of hope for Real Madrid, whose five-game winning run in all tournaments was brought to an end on Saturday evening, and a first Copa del Rey semi-final since the 2018-19 campaign now lies in wait.
That year, Real drew the first leg of their semi-final clash with Barcelona 1-1 before bowing out with a 3-0 defeat at the Bernabeu, but with form and fitness concerns working against them, the latest instalment of El Clasico could hardly have come at a worse time for La Blaugrana.
With one avenue to success in the Europa League now closed off courtesy of Manchester United, Barcelona’s need for glory in the Spanish top flight has become ever more dire, so it was no surprise to see Xavi overcome with fury following Sunday’s upset to Almeria.
Ironically, a Luis Suarez was one of the architects behind Barcelona’s downfall – not La Blaugrana’s former Uruguayan luminary, though – as the Colombia international set up El Bilal Toure for the game’s only goal in the 24th minute of the match, preventing Xavi’s side from going 10 points clear at the top.
An unassailable seven-point chasm is nonetheless a healthy advantage for the success-starved Catalans, but suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time since April is not what the doctor ordered before El Clasico, and neither is an injury to star striker Robert Lewandowski.
One-nil was also the scoreline when Barcelona defeated 10-man Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey quarters – Ousmane Dembele’s effort proved decisive that day – and Xavi’s side have also avoided giant killings against Intercity and Ceuta to progress to the semi-finals for the 11th time in 13 seasons.
Thursday’s first leg will mark the 252nd competitive Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the latter of whom won 3-1 in January’s Supercopa de Espana final, but Los Blancos prevailed by the same scoreline at the Bernabeu back in October, and the odds are stacked heavily in their favour to glean a first-leg advantage here.
Real Madrid Copa del Rey form:
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Real Madrid form (all competitions):
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Barcelona Copa del Rey form:
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Barcelona form (all competitions):
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We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona
Barcelona may have recent when it comes to cup success against their bitter rivals, but Lewandowski’s injury has only added to the insult of recent results, and the loss of Pedri is evidently impacting the Blaugrana flow too.
In contrast, Ancelotti’s star names in midfield should be refreshed and raring to go alongside Benzema – who was notably absent from FIFA’s The Best awards with the first leg in mind – and we can only back Real Madrid to take a two-goal advantage to Camp Nou for the second leg on April 5.