Topics: Real Madrid, Barcelona, ESPN, Copa del Rey, Copa del Rey 2014 Final, El Clasico, El Clasico 2014, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
The Spanish giants will renew rivalries at the Mestalla, as Real Madrid and Barcelona battle it out in the Copa Del Rey final on Wednesday, the 16th of April.

It’s always a big occasion when these two clubs lock horns, especially when it’s a cup final. Historically this fixture has arguably provided football fans with more exhilaration than any other match in Spain and the game between the two sides always lives up to the expectations.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have already met twice this season and on both occasions the match has ended in favour of the Catalans. However things might turn out to be different this time around with Barcelona on a disappointing run which has seen them loose both of their last two matches.

 

Amidst all the chaos, rumours of Tata Martino being relieved of his duties by the end of the season are looming large, something which has not benefited the team.

Madrid on the other hand have been on a much better run. Los Blancos have lost just once in their last five matches, with the sole defeat coming at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League Quarter-Final.

However the loss had no effect on Madrid’s participation in the competition and despite of being outclassed at the Signal Iduna Park, the Castilians still marched on to the last four of the competition. Whereas Wednesday’s encounter will present Barcelona their best chance of finishing the season with a silverware, Real Madrid are still capable of finishing the current campaign with an incredible treble but will have to defy reigning European champions Bayern Munich in Europe as well as City rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga, provided they win the Copa Del Rey tie against Barca.

Team News

Real Madrid

The biggest news of the match is Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from the Copa Del Rey Final. The Portuguese star limped off during Madrid’s 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg and then missed subsequent matches against Real Sociedad and Almeria.

The 29 year old was named on the bench in the second leg against Dortmund but was not risked in order to avoid an aggravation of the injury. Carlo Ancelotti’s confirmed the news and also encouraged his other players to step up in Cristiano’s absence.

"We won't risk it with Cristiano so he won't play. He will train tomorrow then travel to Valencia to see the game," he said at his press conference.

"I found out that I can't count on Cristiano this morning. We can do well tomorrow despite the absence of some players."

However Real Madrid will be boosted by the potential return of defender Sergio Ramos who has recovered from his neck injury however Marcelo (hamstring) is still a doubt.

Barcelona

The Blaugrana  on the other hand are paying the price for not signing a quality centre back in the summer. Injuries at the back have forced Barca into fielding a make shift defense time and time again something which has not settled well for the Catalans. In their last outing against Granada which ended in a 1-0 defeat for Barcelona, Martino paired Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets at the heart of the defense and the duo failed to establish chemistry among them.

Martino might be forced to field an unconventional centre back pairing again in the match against Real Madrid with Marc Bartra (hamstring) also ruled out of the match, the 23 year old will join Gerard Pique on the injury list. Club captain Carlos Puyol may be required to play sooner than expected with Barcelona depleted at the back however the 36 year old who is expected to leave Barcelona by the end of the season might not be in the best shape to complete 90 minutes in such an intense match.

Key battles

Alexis Sanchez vs Sergio Ramos

Tata Martino might alter things like he normally does, one tactical change might see Alexis Sanchez play through the middle as opposed to Lionel Messi. The Chilean international is a shadow of the player he was at Udinese but has performed much better this season, with 17 goals and nine assists to his name in La Liga.

The 25 year old scored a wonder goal when the two sides met earlier in the season in October last year, a goal which proved to be decisive as Barcelona recorded a 2-1 win over their rivals. He will be against Sergio Ramos, who on his day is a world class defender but can get carried away at times. The former Sevilla man is expected to return for the big game and his team will need a top performance from him.

Gareth Bale vs Jordi Alba

Even though the Welshman has failed to make his mark in the El Clasico yet, the former Tottenham man is one of the brightest stars in the world of football and will be hoping to make his presence known especially in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bale has had an incredible debut season so far and has coupled his 19 goals with 15 games in La Liga and Champions League matches. The Welshman has scored five goals in as many games and his counterpart Jordi Alba will definitely have a hard time containing him.

Players to watch out for

Andres Iniesta

With Lionel Messi failing to make an effort for his team after having completed a distance of just 6.8 km against Granada, which is ghastly just 1.5 km more than what Barcelona keeper Jose Manuel Pinto covered, Barcelona will be looking for one of their other star players to set up should the Argentinean maestro fail again.

One such player is Andres Iniesta and even though the 29 year old has had an uncharacteristically quiet season, he is more than capable of stepping up and making the difference for his side.

Angel Di Maria

Even though arrival of big names have pushed the Argentinean down in the pecking order , the 26 year old is enjoying a fine campaign. His opening goal against Almería, was Di Maria’s tenth of the season making it his best goal scoring record during his four years at the club. The former Benfica man has also provided 17 assists which is a club high this season.

In the absence of Ronaldo, Ancelotti has encouraged other star players to step up and Di Maria can most definitely be that player.

Starting line-ups

Barcelona

Real Madrid