The latest instalment of El Clasico will take place at Estadio de La Cartuja on Saturday evening, and there is silverware on the line, as Barcelona and Real Madrid lock horns in the Copa del Rey final.
Barcelona are bidding win the competition for the 32nd time in their history, while Real Madrid are looking to lift the trophy for the 21st time, and there is pressure on Los Blancos to triumph following their recent Champions League exit.
Match preview
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Not too many would have predicted how impressive Barcelona have been this season under Hansi Flick, with the German looking to lead the team to four trophies in his first campaign at the helm, which would represent a truly remarkable achievement.
Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup earlier this year, beating Real Madrid 5-2 in the final, while they are in charge of the La Liga title race, sitting four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid in the table with five games remaining.
The Catalan team are in the semi-finals of the Champions League, preparing to tackle Inter Milan over two legs, and they will have the chance to secure a second trophy of the campaign on Saturday night, with the two biggest clubs in Spain locking horns once again.
Barcelona will enter the match off the back of a 1-0 win over Mallorca in La Liga, and they have not been beaten in a domestic match since December, demonstrating the size of Real Madrid's task on Saturday, but the last two Copa del Rey finals have been won by Los Blancos.
Indeed, Real Madrid triumphed 2-1 in 2014 and 1-0 in 2011, with Barcelona's last win over their bitter rivals in the final of the competition coming back in 1990, when Guillermo Amor and Julio Salinas netted in a 2-0 success.
Barcelona are the most successful side in the history of the Copa del Rey, lifting the trophy on 31 occasions, with their last triumph coming in 2020-21, and they will be looking to beat Real Madrid for the third time this season, having also recorded an impressive 4-0 victory when the two teams locked horns at Bernabeu in La Liga back in October.
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Real Madrid will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 success over Getafe in La Liga, with Arda Guler netting the only goal of the contest in the first half, and the result has kept the La Liga title race alive with five games left.
Los Blancos also already have a trophy in the bag this season, winning the UEFA Super Cup back in August, while they will feature in the Club World Cup, with the new-look competition beginning in the middle of June.
There is no getting away from the fact that Real Madrid's Champions League exit was hugely disappointing, with the team suffering a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Arsenal in the quarter-finals, and there has since been a host of speculation surrounding Carlo Ancelotti's future.
The expectation is that Ancelotti will be sacked this summer, with Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso the favourite to replace him, so Los Blancos are seemingly set to enter a new era.
The Copa del Rey would not have been regarded as a priority for Real Madrid at the start of the season, but the competition is now incredibly important for the capital giants, and there is a strong argument that the majority of the pressure is on them this weekend.
Real Madrid have won four of their seven Copa del Rey finals against Barcelona, while the last cup meeting between the two teams ended in a 4-0 Los Blancos win, with that fixture taking place in the semi-finals of the competition in 2023.
Team News
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Barcelona are missing their leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski due to a hamstring injury, with the Poland international not expected back until the league game with Real Madrid next month, so Ferran Torres is set to be given the nod through the middle.
Alejandro Balde has also not recovered from a hamstring issue of his own in time for the final, with Gerard Martin therefore in line for the left-back role, while Marc Casado and Marc Bernal are also injured, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen is back in the squad, having recovered from the serious knee injury that he suffered last September.
That said, Wojciech Szczesny is likely to remain between the sticks for the contest.
Pau Cubarsi is set to return to the side in the middle of the defence, with Ronald Araujo potentially missing out, while Fermin Lopez may be given the nod over Dani Olmo in the number 10 spot due to the latter's recent fitness issues.
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are certain starters in the wide areas for Barcelona, while Frenkie de Jong and Jules Kounde will also be back in the XI after dropping down to the bench against Mallorca last time out.
As for Real Madrid, Eduardo Camavinga has been ruled out of El Clasico with the adductor injury that he suffered against Getafe on Wednesday night, with the midfielder set to miss the rest of the campaign.
Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao are also still out due to long-term knee injuries, but Ferland Mendy and Kylian Mbappe will be available for selection this weekend, with the pair both in the squad.
Mbappe picked up an ankle injury during the recent Champions League clash with Arsenal, but the expectation is that the France international will start, while Mendy should be on the bench.
Fran Garcia is set to be given the nod at left-back from the first whistle, while Ancelotti confirmed during his post-match press conference on Wednesday that Rodrygo, who has faced recent criticism, will be in the starting XI.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Martin; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, F Lopez, Raphinha; Torres
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, F Garcia; Tchouameni, Valverde; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe
We say: Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
This is a simply gigantic football match, and we are expecting plenty of drama on Saturday night; Real Madrid have responded impressively to their Champions League exit, but Barcelona are the better team at this moment in time, and we are backing the Catalan giants to edge a close match in order to lift the Copa del Rey trophy for the 32nd time in their history.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
