FC Barcelona Decide Starting Line Up For Copa Del Rey Clash With Real Madrid In El Clasico

FC Barcelona have already decided upon their starting lineup for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Real Madrid in El Clasico, SPORT has reported.

The Blaugrana carry a 1-0 advantage into the tie after beating Los Blancos in the first leg last month, and have momentum on their side because of topping their bitter rivals in all three of their last meetings.

On either side of the mentioned 1-0 win at the Bernabeu, they thrashed Madrid 3-1 to lift the Spanish Super Cup final and then came out victorious in a thrilling 2-1 victory in La Liga that put them 12 points clear at the top of the table.

On that fateful Sunday evening before the international break, Xavi Hernandez had to make a decision on who he would pick between Sergi Roberto and Franck Kessie.

Fortunately for the head coach and Culers worldwide, however, both men were able to play a vital part in the fixture and scored the equalizer (Roberto) and winner (Kessie) to put Barca within reach of their first Spanish top flight title in four years.

Xavi’s four man midfield system first came to prominence in the Spanish Super Cup final. Boasting captain Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong as double pivots at its base, it saw Pedri feed the front line in a more advanced, attacking role as false left winger Gavi ran amok with a goal and double assist display.

With Pedri since injured, this freed up the spot which Sergi Roberto took for the league Clasico on March 19. This time round, however, De Jong is also crocked meaning that both Roberto and Kessie can get the nod.

Apart from that, a Barca outfit looking for its fourth win over Madrid since a Las Vegas friendly last summer is pretty much as expected.

As Marc-Andre ter Stegen looks to keep another clean sheet, he will be protected by a defensive line of Alejandro Balde, a Marcos Alsonso standing in for Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, and a Ronald Araujo once more deployed at right back to try and contain Vinicius Jr.

In midfield, Busquets is a sole pivot behind Roberto and Kessie. Up top, Gavi, as said, is the false left winger with central target man Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha to his right.

This is about the best team Xavi can pick with what he has at his disposal. Though they both chipped in and scored away at Elche on Saturday, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati do not deserve the nod on the right and left wings respectively in light of poor form.

While his men are on the cusp of a domestic treble, Xavi cannot afford to take risks for a game like this and tinker.