Copa del Rey: Injury Update Ahead Of Highly Anticipated Clash

Written by Oluwadamilola Olaleye

The Copa del Rey final is set to serve football fans another thrilling atmosphere as Barcelona will be hoping to complete a hattrick of wins against Real Madrid this season. They have met twice, once in the league and also in the Spanish Super Cup which Hansi Flick’s side completely dominated. Ahead of the Copa del Rey finals on Saturday, both teams are battling injuries to key starters which makes it even more dicey as both coaches would have to find a way around this situation for the silverware tie.

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For Real Madrid who secured a hard fought 0-1 victory against Getafe yesterday curtesy of Arda Guler’s first half strike to keep up the chase against Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti who has already lost Dani Carvajal, Elder Militao (both have been pretty much unavailable this season) will probably be without Eduardo Camavinga and David Alaba after the duo picked up a knock in the game.

“We’ll have to assess them tomorrow but both Camavinga and Alaba have muscle issues in their leg, so it’s hard to see them making it back for Saturday. The only option for Saturday is Fran García”, Carlo Ancelotti revealed in his post-match conference.

Two confirmed absentees for Barcelona are highest goal scorer Robert Lewandowski and left back Alejandro Balde who both have three weeks return deadline if all goes according to plan, a return timed for the UEFA Champions League clash against Inter Milan. Hansi Flick has given a bit of clue as to Ferran Torres or Dani Olmo taking Lewandowski’s place in the team.

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Earlier this month, a muscle injury compelled Alejandro Balde to leave the match against Leganes prematurely in the first half. Following the incident at Butarque, Barcelona officially announced that the 21-year-old defender had suffered a hamstring issue, casting uncertainty over his potential participation in the highly anticipated Copa del Rey final but now, it’s has been confirmed that he won’t make the matchday.

Gerard Martin and Hector Fort have both been tipped as his likely replacement. Throughout the season, Martin has primarily filled the role of backup left-back although his performances have occasionally raised concerns. However, Fort’s recent impressive showing during Barcelona’s victory over Mallorca on Tuesday has potentially introduced a challenge to Martin’s established position, suggesting a possible shift in the defensive lineup for the highly anticipated clash.

Kylian Mbappe is expected to come back into the side after missing the last two league games due to a red card in the win against Athletic Club.

Chasing the league and also out of the Champions League, Ancelotti would be hoping that his side can be lucky this time around against Barcelona as they look to end the season strongly.

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