Bet on El Clasico: Barcelona v Real Madrid in Copa del Rey Semi-Finals

Which side will emerge victorious at the Nou Camp in Copa del Rey’s edition of El Clasico, as Barcelona go head to head with Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

All footballing eyes will be on this week’s El Clasico, as arch-rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid square off in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals at the Nou Camp on Wednesday evening. Check out our brief preview and don’t miss out on the chance to bet on El Clasico.

Barcelona v Real Madrid – H 1.72 (5/7) D 4.00 (3/1) A 4.20 (16/5)

Individual performances so far, this season

Let’s take a quick look at the league standings between the two Spanish giants, as that helps us give an image of the current way each of the sides have played until this stage, and could also reflect on their upcoming clash on Wednesday.

Barcelona have been very lucky with their form until this point of the season; they’re leading the table with 50 points from 22 matches, with a record that reads 15 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses. That’s why the Blaugrana side are the undisputed favourites to retain the Spanish league title, per online sportsbooks in Spain.

But their biggest worry for El Clasico is Lionel Messi’s thigh injury that he suffered in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Valencia. It’s not yet certain whether he’ll feature against Real Madrid, with reports suggesting he missed the training ahead of the game. But Barcelona have plenty of other attacking options; in the last El Clasico played in October, Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick in a match that ended 5-1 for the Nou Camp side.

Real Madrid on the other hand have suffered greatly after the departure of Zinedine Zidane in the summer – a man that led them to 3 straight Champions League triumphs and 1 La Liga title. They’ve sacked Julen Lupetegui after a string of poor performances and replaced him with Santiago Solari who has managed to lift them up and bring them into 3rd position on the standings with 42 points; their record stands at 13 victories, 3 draws and 6 defeats.

Los Blancoes are also in need of a proven goalscorer, having lost a guaranteed 40-50 goals per season when they sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus last summer, so they’ll certainly weaker in that department heading into the game.

Which side will emerge victorious in Copa del Rey’s El Clasico?

Barcelona definitely have the upper leg heading into Wednesday’s El Clasico, firstly, thanks to the fact that they’ll enjoy the home support at the Nou Camp, and secondly, because their form is truly. Impeccable. Were it not for their 2-2 draw with Valencia last weekend, it would have been their 10th consecutive victory in La Liga – that’s how good they are at the moment.

Sceptics might point to the fact that Messi may sit out this El Clasico on the sidelines, but it wouldn’t be the first time he hasn’t played against the ‘Galacticos’ of Madrid; on previous occasions when he was injured Barcelona managed to cope without him quite well.

A victory for Real Madrid would speak volumes for their new-found determination under new manager Solari, while also ensuring the player get the moral boost they’re in dire need of after a very poor start to the season.

But the fact they they’re still adjusting to the new boss’s approach to the game and the lack of consistent goalscorer, suggests they might find it hard to instill their game plan against the Catalan side. That’s why we’re backing Barcelona to clinch a victory over their fierce rivals, with providers of internet betting in Spain, although we’re not expecting the margin to be too big like it was in the last El Clasico.