Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Latest injury news ahead of El Clasico showdown in Copa Del Rey semi-final tie

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Arguably one of the greatest rivalries in world football, Real Madrid will host arch-rival Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday night for the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie. The Copa del Rey first leg will mark the 252nd competitive El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona.


Real Madrid has continued to put pressure on rival Barcelona at the top of the La Liga standings however as of now the La Liga title race could temporarily take a break with both sides eager to add another silverware. El Clasicos have never been anything less than a spectacle, and when a spot in the Copa del Rey final is on the line, things could once again get heated.


This will be the second El Clasico of 2023. The last time both of them locked horns, Barcelona lifted the Super Cup trophy in Riyadh beating Real Madrid 3-1. However, since then Carlo Ancelotti's men have been in superb form while Barcelona's form has been somewhat mixed.

They crashed out of the Europa League after getting defeated in hands of Manchester United while a shocking loss to 15th-placed Almeria put things in a further backseat for Xavi. Nevertheless, a fierce tie like this always promises to hand a fresh start.


With a nervy affair awaiting, here we have rounded up the latest injury news of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Real Madrid

Madrid plan to have a potent team in the opening leg of the Clasico match although they are facing some injury concerns lately. Carlo Ancelotti already has been without two star defenders Ferland Mendy and David Alaba for some time. If reports are to be believed they are yet to return to full training. Another key absentee is likely to be Rodrygo. The Brazilian winger missed Real's weekend LaLiga match with Atletico Madrid and is still a major question mark for Thursday's El Clasico.

Barcelona

The Catalan side will also face a similar fair share of problems with four first-team players not expected to feature in this tie. In the first half of Barcelona's Europa League match against Manchester United two Thursdays ago at Camp Nou, Pedri got injured due to a thigh issue. He will be unavailable for the game.

Star forward Robert Lewandowski is also expected to miss the tie having sustained a hamstring issue during the weekend's defeat to Almeria. Ousmane Dembele is facing a race against time to recover from the injury that he sustained at the end of January while attacker Ansu Fati is a big concern after sustaining a bruised knee in training recently.