Furious rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona will face off in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals after both lost points in La Liga over the weekend. The capital club managed to save a draw with difficulty in a duel against Atletico, which once again confirms some of the champion’s problems. This El Clasico fight will be the 252nd in history and the third this season. Galacticos reduced their lead in La Liga to seven points while extending their unbeaten streak to six games, including a 5:2 thrashing of Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League and a 5:3 win over Al-Hilal in the club final. In the Primeira the hosts have 16 victories and four draws, which corresponds to 52 points and the second position in the standings. It is impossible not to note the best indicator in the attack, which differed 47 times. The path to the semi-finals of the Cup of the Sun was not easy, where the whites outplayed the same Atletico only in extra time. Alaba and Mendy, who has a hip injury, will not be able to play today.
It’s been a terrible week for Barcelona as they were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League to Manchester United on Thursday and suffered their first-ever loss to Almer?a on Sunday. It was a disappointment, which Xavi described as his team’s “worst performance of the season”, adding that the 31-time Copa del Rey winner “lacked intensity and rhythm”. Thus, after 23 rounds of the current La Liga championship, the Catalans have 19 victories and two draws, which correspond to 59 points and the first position in the standings. It is impossible not to note the fantastic performance of the team in defense, which conceded only eight times. However, the recent El Clasico stats are in favor of the Blue Garnet, who have won two of the last three meetings, although the absence of key stars Ousmane Dembele, Pedri and Robert Lewandowski threatens to undermine this positive statistic. Fati, Lewandowski, Pedri and Dembele, who has a muscle injury, will not be able to enter the football field. More soccer football prediction can be obtained from the link provided.
