This Thursday, March 2, meringues and culés will collide at 5:00 p.m. at the Santiago Bernabéu for the first leg of the said tournament. On paper, those taken by Xavi seem to arrive at the game more complicated.
The match that paralyzes the world of football is about to begin. real Madrid will host Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final . In the previous one, the merengue club seems to arrive with a better state of mind than the blaugranas, since the latter were knocked out of the Europa League at the hands of Manchester United and lost to Almería for La Liga.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, bring a rising mood after beat Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield , a historic result that leaves the Spaniards with a foot and a half in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Yes, on weekends they still left dots on the way to the 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid . Currently, in La Liga, Barça are leaders with 59 units, seven more than Madrid (52).
In the last clash between the two, those led by Xavi managed to claim victory beating the Madridistas 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final, played in Saudi Arabia. However, the contexts are different in the two squads.
Indeed, the same coach of the Catalans underlined in a press conference that “Real Madrid are the favorites to win the Clásico”, pointing mainly to the good level and the imbalance that Vinícius has, one of the figures of the merengue team. .
Barcelona casualties
As for the culés, they will not be able to count on the presence of three of their greatest figures this season, Pedri, Lewandowski and Dembele . The midfielder picked up the injury in the Europa League first leg against Manchester United and will be out until mid-March, while the Pole picked up a thigh injury which, despite not having not specified how long he will be absent, excludes him in absolute for the classic at the Bernabéu.
On the other hand, Ousmane Dembele , who has made a good comeback this season under Xavi, suffered the injury on January 28 and has since missed six games. His trainer said he was already training normally, but his presence is excluded .
One of the surprises that Xavi brings for this important crossing is Estanis Pedrola , 19-year-old striker who is part of the Barcelona subsidiary. In 11 games, he scored five goals. The coach explained his call during a press conference. “He’s good one-on-one, he’s fast, he can score goals… With Lewandowski out, we think he’ll be a good addition to the team.” .
Madrid losses
As for the meringues, Carlo Ancelotti will not be able to count on the presence of two important pieces in the defensive zone, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy . The Austrian picked up the injury in the Champions League game against Liverpool and will have an estimated one-month downtime. The Frenchman, for his part, was beaten off the pitch in the Copa del Rey quarter-final match against Atlético Madrid, and since then he has missed nine meetings with his team.
Besides, Rodrygo He was a doubt for this match, but he finally appeared in the Italian manager’s call-up. The striker suffered a muscle injury against Liverpool but has been developing in good form and could be key in the game.
El Clásico will be played this Thursday, March 2 at 5:00 p.m. In the stadium Santiago Bernabéu and will be sent by DSports . The duel will be the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final, the return is agreed for the April 5 at Camp Nou . Of course the March 19 on Barca’s home ground, the two will face off again in a match that could define the La Liga championship.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
