Barcelona looking for fourth consecutive win over Real Madrid

Barcelona hope to book their ticket to the Copa del Rey final

Barcelona hold a 1-0 advantage over Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semifinal. The two sides are set to meet again at the Camp Nou with a spot in the final on the line.

Not only is the Catalan side looking to go through but they are also looking for their fourth consecutive win over their eternal rivals in the process. Despite the one-goal lead, Xavi Hernandez isn’t taking anything for granted. Furthermore, he still doesn’t see his team as favorites.

"“We don’t have Madrid’s measure at all, Xavi said. “They can easily come here and win. They can beat any team — how long is it since they’ve lost a two-legged tie?“It’s very even. They are more used to these types of games, they have more experience, they have produced comebacks. For me, they are still the favorites.”Source: ESPN"

Real Madrid won the first El Clasico of the season but have since lost their meetings in the Spanish Super Cup, the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal and their latest league clash at the Camp Nou.

Xavi’s discourse has remained the same throughout. He’s tried to take the pressure off his team and placed it on Real Madrid. Perhaps his words carried more weight before the first leg and not so much now given Barcelona have won three of their last four encounters.

At the same time, it’s not going to be a walk in the park given Barcelona will be without Andreas Christensen, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Ousmane Dembélé. The only time Xavi’s been able to count on these four players was in the Spanish Super Cup final.

In the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, only Frenkie de Jong featured. Barcelona played conservatively in that match and had luck go their way in their only goal. At the same time, they were unlucky in not scoring a second as Franck Kessié’s effort was blocked by Ansu Fati.

If Xavi’s words are to be believed, Barcelona will come out like they did in the Camp Nou a couple of weeks ago and play more open.

“We will try to compete and dominate the ball, like we did in the Supercopa and LaLiga, if not in the first leg,” Xavi said. “We certainly don’t feel we have Madrid’s measure.”

Barcelona rested a number of players in their 4-0 win over Elche perhaps with an eye on the second leg semifinal. With the absences, the only question for Xavi is whether or not he opts with four in midfield or decides to use either Ansu Fati or Ferran Torres in a 4-3-3.

The former should give them more solidity in transition though the absence of Frenkie de Jong is certain to have a significant impact not only defensively but playing out from the back or weaving out from pressure. The latter is a more offensive minded approach, which could allow them to target Dani Carvajal who is a liability defensively for Real Madrid. Again, with all the absences, it will be interesting to see how Barcelona is able to function.

The winner of the tie goes through to the Copa del Rey final where they await the winner of the other semifinal between Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao.

Predicted Barcelona XI

Ter Stegen
Araújo – Koundé – Marcos Alonso – Balde
Sergi Roberto – Busquets – Kessié – Gavi
Raphinha – Lewandowski