Real Madrid and Barcelona are preparing for another titanic battle (22:00), in the first game of the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, at the “Santiago Bernabeu”.
The “merenches” want victory at all costs, on the one hand to be able to chase all their goals this season, on the other hand to recover from the defeat by the Catalans in the final of the Spanish Super Cup.
Carlo Ancelotti will finally have him at his disposalRodrigo, who felt discomfort in the imposing victory over Liverpool at Anfield (2-5), while on the pitch is David Alaba, due to a biceps injury problem. Also, O remains out Ferland Mendy, as it is not at 100%.
The Italian coach spoke at the press conference in the context of the match, about… dependence his team has on Vinicius, but also for the goals of Madrid.
“Real Madrid have a dependency on Vinicius Junior and that is a good dependency, because he is one of the best players in the world at the moment. I see the team depending on Vinicius as something normal for us, he is one of the greatest in the world today. I don’t need to give him any further advice. We will not change. He will face a tough challenge against Ronald Araujo and I think it will be beautiful. I hope he wins. Now comes the good stuff. When you get to March in contention, it’s because you have a chance to win it all, and we’re going to fight for it. We are in a similar spot to last year, only two points less than we were on the exact same date a year ago. We’re not much better than last year, we’re where we deserve to be.”
On the other hand, Barcelona go to Madrid after the defeat by Almeria last Sunday (26/2), having at the same time important absences, since they cannot count on Robert Lewandowski (out of action for two weeks due to muscle injury), Ousmane Dembele (with muscle injury), Pedri (problem in the thigh), while doubtful is o Ansu Fati (knee injury).
After being eliminated by Manchester United in the Europa League, the “Blaugrana” will do everything to reach the championship and the cup. However, Xavi kept a low profile in the press conference, also referring to the quality of Vinicius, while anointed Real as favourites.
“Vinicius makes the difference. He is an excellent player and has added goals to his arsenal. He is a player to watch closely, he is at a very high level. It would be great to win on Thursday at the Santiago Bernabeu, but we have a big opponent, they are the favorites».
In 35 matches at Cup level, Real has 12 wins, Barcelona 15, while 8 matches have ended without a winner. In matches with the home team of Madrid, the “score” is 5-5.
Possible lineups:
Real Madrid (Carlo Ancelotti, 4-3-3): Courtois – Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho – Modric, Tswameni, Kroos – Valverde, Vinicius, Benzema.
Barcelona (Xavi, 4-3-3): Ter Stegen – Araujo, Coute, Christensen, Balde – Sergi Roberto, Busquets, De Jong – Rafinha, Gavi, Ferran Torres.
Source: Sport Fm
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