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On Wednesday, in the King's Cup tournament of Spain, for the third time this season and the tenth time in a little over a year, Barcelona and Real Madrid will clash.
It will be the second leg quarterfinal match at Barcelona's "Camp Nou" stadium, where Real players will try to avenge a painful 1-2 defeat at home.
Barcelona - Real Madrid Referee: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes Date: January 25, 23:00 (Lithuanian time) Stadium: "Camp Nou" (99 thousand seats)
In this match, the Catalans will be without midfielder Seydou Keita, who is representing Mali in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. Three long-term injured players will also not take the field: Ibrahim Afellay and Andreu Fontas have knee problems, and David Villa is recovering from a shin fracture.
Last weekend, Pedro returned to the lineup, but it is unlikely that he will displace the attacking trio of Cesc Fabregas, Lionel Messi, or Alexis Sanchez from the starting lineup.
Jose Mourinho will be without the injured Pepe, who did not train on Monday. It has been reported in the press that he may be sidelined from the starting lineup for a couple of weeks.
Lassana Diarra and Esteban Granero did not participate in the first day of training last week. Sergio Ramos also missed it due to personal reasons, but he will be in the team. Sami Khedira, who is still recovering from an injury, cannot play for a month.
Interestingly, Barcelona's maestro Xavi will be playing his 31st "El Clasico" representing the Catalan team. He will equal Joan Segarra's record.
Meanwhile, Messi equaled the scoring record in the first half of the season, scoring 22 goals against opponents' goalkeepers. However, he trails behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 23 times.
Predicted starting lineups:
Barcelona: Jose Pinto; Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal; Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta; Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez;
Real: Iker Casillas; Alvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Marcelo; Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso, Fabio Coentrao; Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo.
