Three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona | Copa del Rey SF Leg 1 | OneFootball

The Copa del Rey is already in its semifinal stage, and Barcelona is one of the four teams still alive in the competition.

In the final four, the Catalans are paired up against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, with the other semifinal featuring a Basque derby between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. Both games are blockbuster ties and will be played over two legs.

The first leg of Barcelona’s semifinal will be played on Thursday night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, with the second leg scheduled in March at the Spotify Camp Nou.

While Barcelona enter the game off the back of six straight wins, Atletico Madrid have played their last two games against Real Betis and won one and lost the other.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona.

An unexpected injury crisis

At the time of the Copa del Rey draw last week, Barcelona seemed to be in good shape heading into the first leg of the semifinal clash against Atletico Madrid. Matters, however, suddenly don’t look as promising in attack.

Raphinha, who initially missed the clash against Albacete through injury, was expected to return against Mallorca. The Brazilian did not make it in time for the league clash at the weekend and is ruled out of tomorrow’s game as well.

Eyes naturally turn to Marcus Rashford, who did phenomenally well replacing Raphinha at the weekend. However, even the Englishman has been ruled out of Thursday’s game, and Barcelona suddenly have no left winger.

The absence of Rashford and Raphinha is damning enough to Hansi Flick’s plans, but one must also remember that Pedri continues to be out through injury and will be unavailable on the night.

Further, even Frenkie de Jong is just returning from a niggle and did not feature against Mallorca, raising questions over whether or not he has completely recovered from his blow.

With so many starting quality players missing or in precarious situations, Hansi Flick faces a massive selection dilemma ahead of the Atletico Madrid clash tomorrow. His selections, after all, will be pivotal in deciding the dynamic of the game.

The Bernal decision

Will Bernal start? (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

With Pedri unavailable and Eric Garcia now comfortably placed at centre-back, Hansi Flick has a spot to fill in midfield alongside De Jong, who will likely start tomorrow. The question that arises, needless to say – is around Marc Bernal’s preparedness.

The youngster announced his complete return to fitness at the weekend with a splendid solo goal and is seemingly ready to take on bigger challenges. He has started all of Barcelona’s Copa del Rey games so far, and has a chance of doing so tomorrow as well.

Flick’s dilemma, however, will be based around the question of whether or not the player is ready for a game of the intensity that Los Rojiblancos will bring to the table. There is no doubt that he will improve the defensive stability, but he must be physically prepared.

The manager’s go-to midfield solution without Pedri has been the De Jong-Dani Olmo-Fermin Lopez combo, and he could well opt for the same combination tomorrow while keeping Bernal on the bench.

However, the fact that there is no left-winger on the night opens up an additional spot in the XI – one that Olmo or Lopez can theoretically fit. In such a scenario, Bernal could join all three aforementioned names and coexist.

What Flick decides over the youngster’s participation, needless to say, will be interesting to follow. After all, there is no doubt over Bernal’s talent, but only his preparedness for a game of this intensity.

The need for smart planning

Taking to the field at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano tomorrow will be easier said than done for Barcelona, especially given the situation they enter the game in.

Yet, the format of the competitions becomes critical to consider and evaluate at this juncture, for the Cup features two legs in the semifinal to ensure a level playing field for the final four.

Barcelona play the second leg at home and thus have a massive advantage to ride on in the tie as a whole. The objective tomorrow, thus, must be simply not to overpush and grind out a decent result.

There is simply no need for Barcelona to go all out and attempt to finish off the tie in Madrid, given the advantage they have. A lead will help, but the priority must be the defensive solidity to ensure that they do not leak too many goals.

Even a slim lead at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano will be seen as a positive result from their perspective, and it is vital that the players enter the field playing for 180 minutes and not just 90 minutes.

Avoiding hasty decisions, controlling the game, keeping the ball, and playing a simple game – needless to say – would be ideal from their standpoint, and the team simply should not overcomplicate matters in a game where they have a decisive second leg.