Barcelona depleted for Copa ‘clasico’ against Real Madrid

Madrid, March 1 (BNA): Barcelona have been scoring easily and scoring plenty of goals from their attackers to continue to thrive in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, reports the Associated Press.

The lack of attacking finesse has never been a problem for the Catalan club. But things changed heading into an important part of the season, with Barcelona attracting attention for a series of injuries in attack and enduring a poor scoring streak.

Barcelona will miss some of their top scorers when they visit Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday. It is unknown if they will be ready when the two rivals meet again in a crucial La Liga match in a few weeks.

Barcelona will head to the Santiago Bernabeu without Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele and Badri due to injuries.

The trio have scored 40 goals this season, with 25 coming from Lewandowski, eight from Dembele, and seven from Pedri.

Lewandowski will miss a hamstring injury that he picked up in the 1-0 loss at Almeria on Sunday, the first time Barcelona have failed to score in a match since October. Pedri and Dembele have muscle injuries in nursing.

Striker Ansu Fati has also been injured recently but was expected to be available for Xavi at the Bernabeu.

He can play on the left side of attack, with Rafinha on the right and Ferran Torres in a striker role.

Torres played one of his best matches for Barcelona in the league’s “El Clasico” against Madrid last year, when the Catalan club won 4-0 at the Bernabeu. Xavi could use Gavi in ​​a more attacking position in midfield if Fati is not playing.

Barcelona outperformed its opponents 24-7 in 11 matches that ended in a draw with Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League qualifiers.

Then she lost 2-1 in England last week to see her hopes up for Self

Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January. Lost by the same score in the first “El Clasico” of the season in the league match at the Bernabéu.

Real Madrid have been absent twice in defense due to injuries – center back David Alaba and left back Ferland Mendy – but Ancelotti will provide all his senior players in attack.

Rodrygo is the latest striker to recover from injury and is expected to play on Thursday in an attack led by Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema.

Real Madrid missed the opportunity to close in on Barcelona in the league after being taken home by 10-man Atletico Madrid on Saturday. It is 5-2 ahead of Liverpool in the Champions League round of 16.

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