Real Madrid and FC Barcelona meet for the third El Classico of the season in the semifinal of the Copa del Rey with the first leg at Santiago Bernabeu.
Los Blancos defeated city rivals Atletico Madrid 3-1 to make it into the last four while the Catalan giants edged out Real Sociedad by 1-0 to advance from the quarterfinals.
RMA vs FCB Match Details
Date: Thursday, 2 March 2023 / Friday, 3 March 2023
Time: 21:00 (CET) / 01:30 (IST)
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
RMA vs FCB Match Preview
It required extra time to beat Atletico for Real in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals and their arch-rivals made sure they made it difficult for them again in the league meeting this time last weekend. Like the cup tie, Carlo Ancelotti’s men had to come from behind to restore priority in the game through their inspiring 18-year-old. Alvaro Rodriguez came off the bench for consecutive games to impact the result as his bullet header from the corner helped secure a late draw in the derby after Diego Simeone’s side took the lead in the 78th minute through Jose Gimenez even with down to 10. The youngster scored his first goal for the club following an assist in his debut against Osasuna in the previous match. Real Madrid will feel frustrated in dropping two important points in the title chase but with table-toppers FC Barcelona losing their match against Almeria, the disappointment will be less. The gap between the two remains at seven points at the top. Los Blancos will meet the Catalonian giants, rocked by their elimination from Europe and their second defeat in La Liga, in the Copa del Rey semifinal stage now with the home advantage in the first leg. It will be a huge chance for the holders to put a statement once again of their intention of retaining the league title and also to take revenge on the league leaders for the Super Cup defeat in Riyadh earlier this year. Remarkably, Real Madrid have not won the Copa del Rey since the 2013/14 season and are in the semi-finals for the first time after the 2018/19 campaign. A win in the first leg will be important against a depleted Barcelona side due to injuries, that too in the Santiago Bernabeu to take an early step to the final.
Exiting the Europa League from the playoffs against Manchester United despite leading at half-time in Old Trafford albeit a narrow 4-3 aggregate loss may have hurt FC Barcelona but it was only compounded on the weekend as they suffered a shock 1-0 loss away to 15th placed Almeria in La Liga. El Bilal Toure scored the only goal of the game with a ball over the top from Colombian Luis Suarez in the 24th minute leaving the Catalans to chase the game for the rest of the ninety-plus minutes. The result abruptly ended their 12-game unbeaten streak in the league during which they dropped points only once and prevented them from going 10 points clear at the top. It was their second loss of the campaign in the league after a defeat in the first El Classico of the season last year at Santiago Bernabeu and the fixture they will compete again in this midweek. The Blaugranas will feel the lack of momentum ahead of the Copa del Rey is a big problem with their injury crisis taking a toll on them now that the top scorer of the league is also out. With their off-field issues of illegal payments to referees being investigated, any more slip-offs will only add to the pressure on Xavi’s men who are otherwise having an outstanding season after years of mismanagement. There is no need to hit the panic button as of yet with a victory in the next game enough to lift the mood again. Beating Real Madrid will be a perfect way to replace these defeats quickly although their opposition has been in pomp over the last few games if their last game is set apart. This will be the 252nd competitive meeting between these two sides and is expected to be an entertaining one.
Recent Form (all competitions)
RMA: DWWWW
FCB: LLWDW
RMA vs FCB Team News
Real Madrid continues to be without David Alaba who is still struggling with his hamstring injury. Brazilian winger Rodrygo picked up a muscle injury after the Champions League game against Liverpool last week that kept him out for the Madrid derby but he has made it to the squad for the El Classico. Ferland Mendy misses out through a hamstring injury. Youngster Alvaro Rodriguez will begin on the bench again with Karim Benzema starting upfront having just missed out on the FIFA Men’s Best Player award to Lionel Messi.
FC Barcelona took a massive injury blow after their loss against Almeria as star striker Robert Lewandowski got ruled out of this massive clash with a hamstring injury. He joins Ousmane Dembele (muscle) and Pedri (hamstring) on the sidelines. Ferran Torres could slot in the striker position in place of the Polish international. Ansu Fati could also feature after returning to training from his knee injury which kept him out of the defeat to Manchester United last week. Raphinha will also return following an injury scare by kicking a fridge after being substituted in the game on Thursday.
RMA vs FCB Predicted Lineups
RMA: Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho Fernandez; Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos; Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr
FCB: Ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Jordi Alba; Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Gavi; Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati
RMA vs FCB Head to Head (Copa del Rey)
Real Madrid won - 12
Draw - 8
FC Barcelona won - 15
There have been 35 El Classicos in the Copa del Rey with FC Barcelona enjoying the most victory in the clashes The last meeting in this competition also went in the Blaugrana’s favor with Uruguayan Luis Suarez’s brace and Raphael Varane’s own goal giving them a 3-0 win at Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg after the first one ended 1-1. Real Madrid’s last win came in 2014 when Gareth Bale went on an iconic run to net the stunning late winner in the final at Mestalla, the last time they won the trophy.
RMA vs FCB Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Courtois (8)
DEF: Araujo (8.5), Militao (8.5), Alba (8.5)
MID: Valverde (9), Kroos (8), De Jong (7), Modric (8)
FW: Raphinha (9), Benzema (9), Vinicius Jr (9)
Vice-captain: Vinicius Jr
Captain: Karim Benzema
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