Real Madrid has been struggling in El Clasico matches this season, losing badly in most of them against their rivals Barcelona. They lost the Spanish Super Cup to Barca and are currently 4 points behind them in the La Liga standings. If Real drops points in any upcoming matches, their hopes of winning the La Liga title this year could disappear. Now, both teams are set to meet in the Copa del Rey final — but Real has been hit with bad news before the big game.
The Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona will take place on Saturday (April 26) at 2 a.m. Before that, Real won 1-0 against Getafe on Wednesday. After the match, coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that two key players, David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga, will miss the upcoming Clasico due to injuries.
Alaba was taken off in the second half and replaced by Camavinga — but then Camavinga also got injured. He has been playing as a defensive midfielder, and sometimes even as a defender this season. In the 85th minute, he suffered a groin injury after a tough challenge from Getafe’s Luis Miller. After he left the field, Real had to play the rest of the match with just 10 players.
Earlier in the match, Ancelotti took Alaba, who was in Real Madrid’s starting lineup, off the field at halftime due to a left leg muscle injury. Later, the coach confirmed that both Alaba and Camavinga were injured, saying, “We’ll see tomorrow (today) what happens with Camavinga’s injury. I think both of them have muscle pain. So, Saturday’s game will definitely be tough for them.”
Real Madrid is already dealing with injuries to their defenders, and losing Alaba and Camavinga before facing Barcelona, especially in such an important match, is a major setback for Ancelotti’s team. It’s likely that the coach will ask Fran Garcia to handle Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in the Copa del Rey final. While Mendy is fit, he isn’t in top form. On the other side, Barcelona will also be without their experienced striker, Robert Lewandowski.
This season, Real Madrid has played Barcelona twice at home and lost both matches by large margins. In October, they were beaten 4-1 in the La Liga El Clasico. Later, in the Spanish Cup final, Real suffered a crushing 5-2 defeat to Barcelona.
