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Real Madrid vs Barcelona football tips: Stage set for thrilling El Clasico semi-final

Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid and Barcelona take a breather from their La Liga title race, and Tipstrr football expert Sergio Baltuta expects them to serve up a Copa Del Rey semi-final worthy of the name El Clasico.

Less than three weeks before they meet in a crucial La Liga clash, Real Madrid and Barcelona face off for the third time this season at Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday night.

The last time these two teams faced each other in the Copa del Rey was at the same semi-final stage four seasons ago, when they shared a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, before Barcelona progressed after securing a 3-0 win at Camp Nou.

This season the two teams have already faced each other twice, with Real Madrid managing a 3-1 win at home in La Liga, and Barcelona reversing that scoreline in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia.

Real Madrid are undefeated in their last six games (five wins and one draw). In La Liga the Galacticos managed a 1-1 draw in the Madrid derby against Atletico in their last game, a result that combined with Barcelona's defeat to reduce the distance between them down to seven points.

Carlo Ancelotti's team remains undefeated at the Bernabeu this season, with 12 wins and four draws from their 16 home games. In their last four home games they have found the net seven times and conceded just once.

In the last nine El Clasico encounters, Barcelona have won just twice against Real Madrid's six, while just one game ended as a draw.

Barcelona will be smarting as they come into this game off two consecutive defeats in the space of three days during the past week.

Last Thursday's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United saw Barca eliminated from the Europa League less than three months after being knocked out of the Champions League.
Worse was to follow on Sunday, when they suffered a shock 0-1 reversal at Almeria in La Liga, their first league defeat of the season.
Xavi's team had enjoyed 11 consecutive away wins before those setbacks, and indeed had been undefeated on their travels since they last visited the Bernabeu in October's La Liga clash.
That 3-1 reversal makes up a large chunk of the meagre eight goals that Barcelona's defence has conceded in 23 La Liga outings this season, meaning that the Catalans boast the best defensive record not just in Spain, but in the top five European leagues.
However, despite that impressive defensive record, they have conceded five goals in their last three outings, and Real Madrid's star-studded line-up is sure to keep their back line busy again on Thursday night.
Since the last goalless El Clasico in 2019, seven of their nine subsequent encounters have produced over 2.5 goals scored, and in six of them both of the teams scored.

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