Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (C) celebrates a goal beside Real Madrid's Welsh forward Gareth Bale (R) during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF vs FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. / AFP PHOTO / PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU
The Catalan side eased past Sevilla in the previous round winning 6-1 in the second leg of their quarter-final clash. Real Madrid had more of a fight on their hands however, they too made it past Girona in impressive style.
While Barcelona are flying high in the La Liga table, same cannot be said about Madrid’s fortunes this season. Santiago Solari’s side currently find themselves in third place and a mammoth eight-points behind the current league leaders.
Catching the Catalan outfit in the league standings is unlikely however, Madrid can get the better of their rivals by eliminating them from the cup.
Los Blancos certainly come into this first leg match in good form having won seven of their last eight games in all competitions.
The main issue when it comes to Madrid, is their ability to defend. In their last four games, Real have conceded five goals. This is a serious concern when you are about to play a side which has scored 60 league goals in 22 games.
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