The Copa del Rey final will pit Barcelona and Real Madrid against one another for the final time this season. Los Cules won the first two Clasicos of the season, but the irony of the situation is that the two sides facing off on Wednesday enter that match with the same questions that they did heading into that match. Here is how Barcelona and Real Madrid look heading into their big game.
Barcelona
After defeating Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 23, Los Cules looked like world beaters. The team took down Espanyol and Celta Vigo; the win also came after a huge win over Osasuna and an impressive demolition of Manchester City. But then the team was halted by Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou in the Champions League and the world came crashing down for Barcelona. The team defeated Real Betis 3-1 at home but hardly looked impressive. Then came the loss against Atletico Madrid in the second UCL match and then a 1-0 loss against Granada has seemingly destroyed the team's hopes of winning the Spanish League title. Barcelona sits five points behind Atletico Madrid and would need to win its remaining games and hope for an Atletico loss at some point in the next four games to have any hopes of winning. But the team must also hope that Real Madrid drops points as well in their final four; not an easy wish considering Madrid's schedule.
For Barcelona this is the most important game of the year. A loss and the team is likely to walk away trophiless in 2013-14. The team needs superstar Lionel Messi to step up. He has scored four of his last seven goals from the penalty spot and looked particularly disinterested in his last two games.
Real Madrid
Los Blancos have not revealed whether superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in the match on Wednesday but the team has seemingly got on well without him. After losing against Barcelona, the team lost 2-1 at Sevilla and looked completely finished for the year. However, Carlo Ancelotti's side has been resurrected and has looked far better of late. The team has won four of its last five in dominating fashion and has pitched shutouts in each one of those victories. The lone blemish was a 2-0 loss against Borussia Dortmund, but one might argue that the team was a bit confident about its chances after winning the first leg 3-0.
In Ronaldo's absence Gareth Bale has continued to prove his worth as a top star. He has five goals in the last five games and has a total of 14 strikes and 12 assists in the Spanish League this season; he also has five goals and three assists in the Champions League.
It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Iker Casillas will have in his first Clasico since the fall of 2012 when he allowed two goals against Lionel Messi. He has looked great when called upon by Ancelotti this season and will give Madrid a huge advantage over Barcelona. Los Cules are relying on the often unreliable Jose Maria Pinto to protect them. He has not looked capable of doing that since taking over for Victor Valdes.
Which team has looked better heading into Wednesday's final?
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