FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Previewing the first El Clásico of February
Real Madrid visits the Camp Nou Wednesday night as they begin a very difficult month of February against FC Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinals first-leg. They know what they’ll be up against but will they be able to stop it?
First and foremost, Los Merengues will need to put the 5-1 loss to the Catalans earlier this season behind them. It’s true that things have not dramatically changed for the Men in White, but a lot has improved as they enter this match with a good run of form and a new manager in charge after Julen Lopetegui was sacked because of that woeful result.
“You never know if there’ll be tactical surprises, it’s not all down to what just one team does. We’re expecting a very nice match, it’s a Clásico and we hope that everyone will enjoy it. We hope to put in a big performance and win,” Santiago Solari said in his pre-match press conference and he definitely has a point.
For a game this big, nothing can really be predicted and it’s almost always decided by little details within the match.
Things will be made a little more difficult for Real Madrid as they are forced to enter this match with an eye on Saturday night as they take on Atletico Madrid in a game which will see them make it to second place if they beat their city rivals. Until then though, El Clásico will have to be the only thing on their minds.
As for the opponents, Barcelona enter this match in good form, but dropped two points during their last La Liga match as they came back from being 2-0 down thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi who is still a doubt for the match tonight even though he has been included in the official squad list by the Catalan team.
Ousmane Dembele was not fit enough to be selected for the team and did not make the squad sheet. It’s worth noting that even though Messi is an integral part of the team, they were able to come out victorious without much trouble earlier in the season even though the Argentine was injured.
Other than that, Barcelona continues to miss Samuel Umtiti, Rafinha, and Jasper Cillessen who has started their past Copa matches.
Next. Santiago Solari gives no indication as to who will start against FC Barcelona. dark
Real Madrid has survived a rough period of time which saw many of their players injured. Luckily, many are all fully fit and ready to start tonight if required other than Jesús Vallejo who continues to work on his recovery.
I expect this to be a high-scoring game today from both teams as they are both in form when it comes to attacking while the defense has seen its ups and downs. Having said that, both teams will have to be ready for anything and prepared to take risks throughout the match while making sure to maintain their organization and solidity especially when it comes to defending.
Hope you all are ready for the first out of three upcoming El Clásico matches!