Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will play on Wednesday night at the Camp Nou stadium to enter the Copa del Rey final. This is the fifth and last El Clásico of the season and it is going to be an interesting match, as both teams are evenly matched and have performed well so far.
In La Liga, with 11 matches to go, Barcelona has a 12-point lead over Madrid. In the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona has been eliminated for a second year in a row, and Madrid is set to win its 15th championship and secure its position as the most successful team in the UCL.
For Real Madrid, Wednesday’s match in Barcelona’s Camp Nou is both an opportunity to get back at Barça and to play in the final of the Copa del Rey, a tournament that is more traditionally associated with the Catalan team.
For Barcelona, defeating Real Madrid will bring them one step closer to going home with the Super Cup, LaLiga and Copa del Rey — a feat that would boost the team as it struggles with a scandal stemming from million-dollar payments made to a company linked to Spanish referee José María Enríquez Negreira.
In summary, for Barcelona, there is no better way to build back its damaged reputation than to beat Madrid. So far this season, Madrid has lost three of its four matches against the Catalan team.
Barça won the Super Cup (1-3), the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals (0-1) and the LaLiga match at Camp Nou (2-1). It only lost to Madrid (3-1) in the El Clásico at Bernabéu stadium in Madrid. Barcelona has overcome adversity, optimized its resources, and capitalized on the emotional charge of Camp Nou.
While the team says it’s impervious to the dramas of the club, it has also been psychologically strong and flexible in the field, which is important given that they will be going into Wednesday’s game without some of its key players: Pedri, Ousmane Dembélé, Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong.
According to Barça trainer, Hernández Creus, who said that Real Madrid is very likely to win Barcelona, drawing the game is off the book.
“Our goal is to be in control and play to win and not draw despite coming into it 0-1 in the first leg,” Xavi said.
“When’s the last time they lost a playoff? In this case, the answer is 2021, when Madrid lost against Chelsea. “They are under more pressure,” he continued. “We feel confident. We want twice the joy: reaching a final and beating Madrid.”
However, Real Madrid is entering the match in a better form than they were in the last Camp Nou they played. It has brought back its game and is counting on a near-full team — only Férland Mendy will remain on the sidelines due to injury. “Tomorrow [Wednesday] it’s our turn to win,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who has experience in high-stakes matches and says he intends to have a good game “without going crazy about scoring and being attentive to details.”
Among Madrid’s key players are Karim Benzema, Rodrygo Silva de Goes, and Antonio Rüdiger, while Barca might focus more on team effort.