Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has said the side’s three previous Clasico wins this season mean nothing and Real Madrid are the favourites heading into Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semifinal.
Barca have won four of their six meetings with Madrid since Xavi took charge, including the last three, and have a slender 1-0 lead heading into the second leg at Spotify Camp Nou this week.
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However, Xavi said Madrid’s experience and success in the Champions League in recent seasons tips the tie in their favour.
“We don’t have Madrid’s measure at all,” Xavi said in a news conference on Tuesday. “They can easily come here and win. They can beat any team — how long is it since they lost a two-legged tie?
“It’s very even. They are more used to these types of games, they have more experience, they have produced comebacks. For me, they are still favourites.”
Madrid won the first meeting between the two teams this season in LaLiga back in October, but Barca have won all three fixtures in 2023: 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final; 1-0 in the Copa semifinal first leg; and 2-1 in the league earlier this month.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Xavi added of his side’s recent Clasico success. “Maybe it breeds confidence for us but for them they will want revenge, they will be hurting for sure.
“We will try to compete and dominate the ball, like we did in the Supercopa and LaLiga, if not in the first leg. We certainly don’t feel we have Madrid’s measure.”
Barca will be without four key players for the game, with Frenkie de Jong, Ousmane Dembele, Pedri and Andreas Christensen all ruled out through injury.
The winners of the tie will face either Osasuna or Athletic Club in the final in May, with Barca looking to follow up January’s Super Cup triumph with a LaLiga — they are 12 points clear of Madrid at the top — and Copa double.
“It is a final for us, it’s a semifinal but it means a lot,” Xavi said. “It’s a chance to get to the final of the Copa del Rey and, on top of that, by beating our eternal rival, so it’s worth double.
“We are hungry for trophies and success. We have one and now we want two more. We have to remember where we’re coming from last season, but the objective was always to win trophies — I know that puts pressure on me, but this is Barca.”
