Barcelona missing four players for clash with Real Madrid

Barcelona will be without the services of four players for Wednesday's Copa del Rey semi-final second leg with Real Madrid at Camp Nou.

Xavi's side will enter the match with a narrow advantage, having recorded a 1-0 victory when the two teams met in the first leg of the last-four clash at Bernabeu.

Barcelona will again be without the services of Pedri and Ousmane Dembele due to hamstring problems, while Andreas Christensen is out with the calf issue that he suffered on international duty.

Frenkie de Jong has also been ruled out, with the midfielder not recovering from the hamstring injury that he suffered against Real Madrid during the international break.

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However, there is a return to the squad for Raphinha, who was not involved in the 4-0 win over Elche in La Liga last time out due to a suspension.

The first-team absences mean that there are again youngsters in the squad, with Angel Alarcon, Estanis Pedrola, Marc Casado and Aleix Garrido selected for El Clasico.

Garrido made his senior debut in the four-goal success over Elche, replacing Ansu Fati in the latter stages of the league contest.

Barcelona boss Xavi has big decisions to make when it comes to his attack, as Fati and Ferran Torres were both on the scoresheet against Elche.

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Alejandro Balde and Sergio Busquets will also be bidding to return to the XI, having been unused substitutes in the team's last match.

"We want to play against Real Madrid like we did in the Super Cup. I can already visualize a very tough game. We'll try to do our best, but it will be very tough," Xavi told reporters during his pre-game press conference.

"Real Madrid are the reigning league and Champions League winners. We're going to try and control the match, to win it, but it will be difficult.

"Without De Jong and Pedri, we might not have the ball as much as we would like, but we will try to control the game and play attacking football."

Should they manage to advance to the final of the competition, Barcelona would meet Osasuna, who overcame Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday night to progress to the showpiece event.

Barcelona squad vs. Real Madrid:

Ter Stegen, Pena, Tenas; Araujo, Alonso, Alba, Kounde, E Garcia, Balde; Garrido, Torre, Gavi, Casado, Roberto, Kessie, Busquets; Lewandowski, Fati, F Torres, Raphinha, Alarcon, Estanis