Real captain Sergio Ramos returned from suspension
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Barcelona: After drawing 1-1 at the Camp Nou earlier in February, Barcelona turned on the afterburners at the Bernabeu on Wednesday to seal a 4-1 aggregate win over their Copa semi-final foes.
Luis Suarez scored a second-half brace in Madrid (one penalty) to solidify that win alongside Raphael Varane’s own-goal. Ernesto Valverde will hope Lionel Messi is able to rediscover his scoring touch, having netted a hat-trick against Sevilla in his last league—the Argentinian has failed to score in only one of his last 11 league games.
Barcelona’s previous trip to the Bernabeu in December 2017 also ended 3-0 in the visitors’ favor, and Real’s last competitive home win over their Clasico rivals was back in October 2014. They’ve lost four times at the Bernabeu in this fixture since then.
Barcelona Lineup:
ter Stegen, Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Vidal, Rakitic, Dembélé, Messi, Suarez
Real Madrid: Real captain Sergio Ramos returned from suspension in midweek but couldn’t hold back Barca’s barrage, and he’ll be a key figure if Santiago Solari’s hosts are to rewrite the script in La Liga. Solari has improved Real since replacing Julen Lopetegui in October, but he’s lost twice in his last three games, and a second Clasico defeat in less than a week won’t inspire fans he should be kept on past this season.
While Solari defended his team’s efforts, other Real supporters may consider losing El Clasico to be somewhat more lamentable, and a third defeat to Barca this season will hammer home a reminder of who reigns king in Spain at present.
Real Madrid Lineup:
Courtois, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Reguilon, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Vazquez, Vinicius Jr. Benzema