COPA DEL REY PREVIEW: REAL MADRID VS BARCELONA

The El Clasico trilogy starts today! Who comes out on top?

Barcelona are back in Copa del Rey action. As the most successful team in the competition, they're gunning for yet another final. Their form of recent hasn't been the best, suffering two consecutive losses this past week. But if there's any game that can motivate the team to get back to winning ways, it's the Clasico at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid, unlike their rivals, have experienced a bit of an upswing in form recently. They were unable to follow their trashing of Liverpool with a win in the Madrid Derby however. Still lagging 7 points behind Barcelona in the league, last week's defeat of the Catalans at Almeria will make Los Blancos wonder if La Liga has truly slipped from their grasps. But they'll want to start with a victory in the Clasico.

INTERESTING STATS

-Real Madrid have not last lost a match at home since April 2022. Their last defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu came against Chelsea in the Champions League.

- Barcelona’s 18-game unbeaten run came to an end when they lost in the second leg of the Europa League knockout against Manchester United. Currently, they are on a two-game losing streak.

- Real Madrid and Barcelona have already met twice in the ongoing season. Real Madrid managed to win the league fixture at home while the Blaugrana won in the Spanish Super Cup final.

- Barcelona have not conceded a goal in their last two Copa del Rey matches.

Los Blancos have found the back of the net on six occasions in their last two Copa del Rey outings.

TEAM NEWS

REAL MADRID

Carlo Ancelotti will once again be without the services of Ferland Mendy, who is out injured. David Alaba will also miss this fixture because of the injury that he picked up in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg win over Liverpool.

Rodrygo and Tchouameni have made recoveries from their injuries and will be available for selection.

Thibaut Courtois will be in goal once again. The Real Madrid boss is expected to start with an unchanged back four. Dani Carvajal and Nacho will be the full-backs, while Eder Militao will pair up with Antonio Rudiger as the centre-backs.

Tchouameni and Modric will start alongside Toni Kroos in the midfield. And Federico Valverde will start as the right winger. The manager will surely start with Valverde because he is pretty aware of the importance he will have.

Valverde will be expected to drop back and make it 4-4-2 when Real Madrid defend. And, he has the legs to do it throughout the 90 minutes. Vinicius Junior will start on the left, while captain Karim Benzema will lead the line.

Barcelona

Xavi's injury list unfortunately keeps growing. Adding to Pedri and Dembele, Lewandowski has suffered a hamstring injury and is expected to be sidelined for the next couple of weeks. Andreas Christensen also reportedly has ankle discomfort and his participation at the Bernabeu is in question. Ansu Fati however, has made full recovery from a knee contusion and is available for selection.

Nevertheless, Xavi still has formidable weapons at his disposal. TerStegen is sure to start in goal. Eric Garcia or Marcos Alonso may take Christensen's spot in the backline that'll include Araujo, Kounde and Balde.

The midfield is where things get interesting. Pablo Torre has shown cause to be given more minutes. DeJong, Kessie, Gavi and Roberto are options, although it's difficult to predict how the midfield will lineup in Pedri's absence.

Barça are surprisingly short of attacking options. Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati and Angel Alcaron are the only options and will ahve to be at their clinical bests with any chances that may fall to them.

Where are Real Madrid vs Barcelona playing?

Location: Madrid, Spain

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu

Date: Thursday 2 March

Kick-off Time: 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT 21:00 🇳🇬

Referee: Jose Luis Munuera Montero

VAR: Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez

El Clasico is always about passion, who want to win it the most. Team form leading to games like this aren't the best predictors of outcome.

What we expect is an entertaining clash involving two teams desperate for an upswing in momentum, a positive way to begin the month.

Let's go.

LA LIGA PREVIEW: ALMERIA VS BARCELONA

With their focus now on the primary goal, Barça travel to Almeria with the aim of stretching their lead at the top of the table.

With their Europa League campaign dead and gone, Barcelona can now turn their attention to what's been the primary goal for some time this season: La Liga.

Having just being reminded of what it means of lose for the first time in about four months, Xavi's men know that the league is theirs for the taking and will want to quickly put those dark thoughts aside and concentrate on the mission at hand.

Their opponents, Almeria, were last season's second division winners and have the eighth best home record in the top flight this season, but they've endured a surly welcome back to the top flight and come into this game on the back of a 6-2 whiplash at the hands of Girona, and a game against the league leaders is probably far from ideal as an immediate follow up.  They've been abysmal on away grounds, so their hopes of avoiding relegation rests on their performances on home turf.

INTERESTING STATS

- Since 2007, Barcelona and Almeria have locked horns 15 times across competitions. The visitors have been unbeaten so far and have come out on top 13 times.

- Barcelona have found the back of the net at least twice in their last ten meetings against Almeria.

- Barcelona have won their last seven league games against Almeria. And, they have kept a clean sheet on six of those occasions.

- The Catalan giants have won their last six away games in La Liga.

- Barcelona have the best defensive record in the league having conceded just seven goals in 22 outings.

Last five meetings

05/11/22 Barça 2-0 Almeria 

08/04/15 Barça 4-0 Almería

08/11/14 Almería 1-2 Barça

02/03/14 Barça 4-1 Almería

28/09/13 Almería 0-2 Barça

TEAM NEWS

Almeria.

 Midfielder Alejandro Pozo is the only notable absentee for head coach Rubi due to a muscle problem. He'll be expected to shuffle his lineup after the game at the Montilivi.

Arnau Puigmal, Largie Ramazani, Juan Brandariz and El Bilal Toure are expected to return to the starting eleven.

Barcelona

Pedri and Ousmane Dembele remain absent as they recover from muscle injuries. Ansu Fati suffered a knerle contusion in training and has been ruled out. Ronald Araujo is said to be fit enough for this game, and Gavi is expected to return to the starting XI.

With an El Clasico on the horizon, Xavi will be tempted to rotate a little bit. Marc Andre TerStegen remains untouchable. Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso and Eric Garcia all have the potential to break into that backline. Ferran Torres has given a decent account of himself in recent times and deserves a start, alongside Raphinha and Lewandowski.

Where and when are Almeria vs Barcelona playing?

Location: Almeria, Spain

Stadium: Estadio Mediterraneo

Date: Sunday 26 February

Kick-off Time: 17:30 GMT / 12:30 ET / 09:30 PT, 18:30 🇳🇬

Referee: Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias

VAR: Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez

Frankly, Almeria have been quite decent at home, so this might not be a walk in the park for Barcelona.

Or maybe it'll be, as the Catalans will want to go into the Copa del Rey Semi finals on the back of a convincing victory.