On Thursday, March 2, 2023, Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet in the first leg of the 2022-23 Copa del Rey Semi-Finals at Stadium Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. They will face for the 37th time in La Copa.
The head-to-head record favors Barcelona, who have won 16 of the previous cup meetings, while Real Madrid have won 12 and there have been eight draws. The most recent Copa del Rey match between these two giants took place on February 27, 2019, and concluded in a 3-0 victory for the Catalan side.
Although this will be their first meeting since then, the outcome will decide which team will have the upper hand heading into the second leg. The Blaugrana are still dangerous despite the absence of Robert Lewandowski due to their lethal scoring attack.
Why is Robert Lewandowski missing first leg of Copa del Rey El Clasico?
Unfortunately for Barcelona, striker Robert Lewandowski suffered a hamstring injury last weekend and will miss Thursday's first leg of their Copa del Rey Semi-Final matchup against rivals Real Madrid. The Pole is anticipated to miss two weeks of action after sustaining the injury in Sunday's 1-0 loss to Almeria.
According to a statement released by Barca, "Lewandowski has a strain in his left hamstring." The club did not provide an estimate for how long he would be out of action. However, as per Spanish publication Relevo, he may also miss the next league games against Valencia on March 5 and Athletic Bilbao on March 12.
Nonetheless, Xavi Hernandez will be hoping his superstar striker is well enough to play in the March 19 La Liga match at Camp Nou against Carlo Ancelotti's team. The Catalans also anticipate having Lewandowski back for the second leg of their Copa del Rey showdown on April 5.
