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Real Madrid host Barcelona for the first-leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
On Thursday evening, Barcelona and Real Madrid face off in the first-leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final final clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.
This would be the third Clasico of the season out of a projected five, with Real Madrid winning the first one 3-1 in LaLiga and Barcelona returning the favour with a 3-1 scoreline as well, beating Real Madrid to the Supercopa de Espana.
Real Madrid
The Los Blancos are determined to win the Copa del Rey, ending a nine-year wait, this season with Real Madrid players publicly speaking about the intent. They have had to overcome difficult LaLiga opponents since their first match against lower league side Cacereno in the round of 32. They fought their way past Villarreal in the round of 16 and needed extra-time and a remarkable comeback to knock out regional rivals Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final.
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Real Madrid were ruthless in their first game against a Xavi side in incubation, putting three goals past them in a dominant performance. Los Blancos are the favourites going into this tie as well, with Barcelona's manager admitting as much, given the number and importance of players Barcelona have sidelined.
Real Madrid have no significant absentees with the exception of Alaba, who is recovering from a hamstring injury from the win over Liverpool, and Carlo Ancelotti would be able to name his strongest possible eleven.
Barcelona
The Blaugrana have seen their impressive run of wins come to an end, suffering back-to-back defeats, one of which knocked them out of the Europa League. With the second-tier European competition now off the table, Barcelona would view the Copa as a route to a domestic treble, with a comfortable league lead on Real Madrid in second and a Supercopa de Espana triumph over Real Madrid.
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The Blaugrana made a big statement in their season with the 3-1 win over Real Madrid in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to win the Super Cup, after suffering a defeat with a similar scoreline to Ancelotti's men.
Piling on Barcelona's recent bad results is the loss of key players, with Pedri, Robert Lewandowski, and Ousmane Dembele, who were immense in Barcelona's win over Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana, being unavailable for selection by Xavi due to injuries. Christensen was also reported to have retired from training early today after feeling discomfort, as his availability for the clash is in doubt.
Possible Lineups Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti is expected to name a very strong lineup, with his squad healthy and fit ahead of the clash.
Thibaut Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho Fernandez; Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos; Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema, Vinicius
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Key player: Karim Benzema
Barcelona
With Pedri, Lewandowski, and Dembele injured and Christensen reported as a doubt for the clash, Barcelona's line-up is expected to be as follows:
Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Ronaldo Araujo, Jules Kounde, Marcos Alonso, Alejandro Balde; Frank Kessie, Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets; Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Gavi.
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Key player: Gavi
Verdict
Barcelona are severely handicapped by the injuries and are psychologically disadvantaged with back-to-back defeats. Although form matters little in derbies and Clasicos, Real Madrid are the favourites here and should be able to beat Barcelona fairly comfortably.
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