Barcelona v Real Madrid – Copa del Rey El Clasico Preview and Betting Tip
Barcelona and Real Madrid resume their heated, passionate and perennial rivalry at the Nou Camp on Tuesday evening, as the two Spanish giants meet in the Copa del Rey. With European football of the Spanish variety in particular a popular dish across Europe, particularly in England, tens of millions of people will be tuning into this latest fascinating installment of the series to see which one of the two teams proceeds, with the tie poised intriguingly at 1-1 after the first-leg.
Certainly the season has gone much better for Barcelona than Real, with the visitors to the Nou Camp effectively eliminated from any pretensions of challenging for the title some weeks ago. But with both teams’ hopes in the Champions League also hanging by a thread – Barcelona’s in particular – the presumed supremacy and pre-eminence of the Spanish giants has been seriously compromised this term. With Valencia having lost at home and Malaga a goal down as well, and Premier League representatives struggling, the balance of power in Europe has certainly shifted this season.
Having rested many of their big hitters at the weekend, both sides are expected to field their strongest line-ups for this fixture. It will be interesting to see what sides take to the field in El Clasico Part II at the weekend, with Real facing a Champions League tie only days later. But for tomorrow’s critical Copa Del Rey tie we should see the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo restored to the starting line-ups.
Barcelona (possible 4-3-2-1): Valdes; Dani Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Jordi Alba; Xavi, Busquets, Fàbregas; Pedro, Iniesta; Messi
Real Madrid (possible 4-2-3-1): Casillas; Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Fábio Coentrão; Xabi Alonso, S. Khedira; A. di María, M. Özil, Cristiano Ronaldo; K. Benzema
Betting Prediction: This is an absolutely massive fixture for Real Madrid and manager Jose Mourinho. With Real’s hope in La Liga already pretty much over, Mourinho will know this is his last hope of a domestic trophy this season; indeed, with Real’s Champions League tie with Manchester United hanging in the balance, Los Blancos could find that their season is completely over by this time next week.
Mourinho has typically pulled out the stops in such situations, and this could yet see Real progress at Old Trafford. But I somehow fancy them to win here, despite the monumental stregnth of Barcelona at home. Mourinho has a habit of pulling results out of the hat when they are really needed, and Real were able to win at the Nou Camp in the league last season. Barca have looked vulnerable on the counter-attack and to crosses recently, and haven’t kept a single clean sheet in months. While their possession football and attacking potency remains, they looked decidedly edgy and nervy in their last match against Sevilla, as if the defeat to Milan in the Champions League had somewhat dented their confidence.
So I’m going against my usual instinct and tipping Madrid to pull off a victory here. You can get best odds of 4-1 on Real winning in the Nou Camp, so I consider it a good value punt, and it is my tip for this fixture.
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