BARCA HOST REAL MADRID IN EL ‘ CLASICO COPA DEL REY SEMI SECOND LEG. PREDICTION
La Liga leaders Barcelona turn their focus to their Copa del Rey semi final second leg against eternal rivals Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Xavi’s side labored to a 1-0 win in the first leg, for their third win against Madrid this season, and are looking to book a place in the final.
Real Madrid are coming off a resounding 6-0 win against Valladolid over the weekend, with Karim Benzema bagging a hat-trick.
Barcelona were also 4-0 winners against Elche to maintain their 12-point lead at the top of the table.
Barcelona are in a bid to reach the Copa del Rey final for the eighth time in 10 seasons, and not since the 2006-07 campaign have they been eliminated from the semis.
Real Madrid have failed to reach the showpiece event since the 2013-14 season – where they beat Barca in the final.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, with their previous defeat coming at the hands of Almeria in February.
Real Madrid have lost three of their 11 matches in La Liga in 2023 – only one defeat less than they had suffered in 2022.
Barcelona have embarked on a nine-game unbeaten run in front of their own fans and are hoping to still have the chance for another piece of silverware.
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What time does Barcelona vs Real Madrid start?
The game kicks off at 21:00pm CET at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid team news
Raphinha returns from suspension but may have to settle for a place on the bench as Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres continue their starting roles.
Franck Kessie will start in midfield alongside Sergio Busquets and Gavi as Pedri continues to recover from injury.
This season’s top scorer Robert Lewandowski will be the main man up front for the hosts.
For the visiting Madrid, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior will lead the attack as they seek to find a way back into this tie.
Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni will engineer proceedings in the middle as Federico Valverde comes in to replace Rodrygo.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid head to head
From the 70 games played between these two teams, Barca have a slight advantage – winning 28 games, compared to Madrid’s 24 wins.
The remaining 18 have resulted in a stalemate.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid current form
The hosts have won all their last 5 games prior to this encounter, scoring 9 goals and conceding just one. While, Madrid have won three games, lost one and shared the spoils in another.
Barcelona vs Real Madrid prediction
After the narrow first leg defeat, Madrid are expected to come out guns blazing for this one with in form striker Karim Benzema scoring a hat-trick at the weekend, he will be looking to lead his side to victory this evening.
However the hosts also have their main man in form after scoring a brace at the weekend with a goal in each half Robert Lewandowski will be hoping for a repeat performance.
Interestingly both teams have scored in each of the last ten Copa Del Rey H2Hs held at Camp Nou. Will we see both teams score yet again?
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