On the stage of the national derby, the first round of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals ushered in a marquee match, with Real Madrid hosting Barcelona. These two historic and competitive teams have always been at each other's throats in past encounters, with sparks flying between offense and defense. With scores catching up with each other in the last four official matchups, two of which ended in a 1-3 scoreline this season, this matchup will undoubtedly ignite passions once again, with an expected goal tally of more than 3.5 goals. (The match kicks off at 4 a.m. Friday morning.)
Real Madrid's attacking power was damaged in the first half of the season due to the injury of Benzema, but fortunately, the French marksman has recently recovered and scored twice in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 against Liverpool. Another striker Yunis Os is also in hot form, not only scoring efficiently, but also with excellent personal breakthroughs to create opportunities for teammates, and substitute Marcos Asensio has also made some progress from time to time, Real Madrid's attacking strength should not be underestimated.
In fact, Real Madrid must make full use of their home advantage in the first leg and go all out on the attack to not only win, but also aim for a multi-goal lead to avoid being passive in the second leg away from home.
After Europa League exit, Barcelona put all their efforts into domestic competitions
Barcelona had to turn their goals to domestic competitions after their exit from the Europa League. The team has been widely criticized for its unexpected defeat against Emilia in the league. Facing their old rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona will surely go all out and try to bounce back in the tournament.
Barcelona's Rafinha, Ferentx and other midfielders play with a very aggressive style, coupled with the instability of Real Madrid's defense, Barcelona's chances of scoring will be very considerable. Looking back on Barcelona's last three away games against Real Madrid, a total of 6 goals, and in the last four "Real Barcelona" official tournament meetings, the total number of goals all reached 4 or more, a goal battle seems inevitable, optimistic about the outcome of the game.
