It's been 11 years! The final of the Copa del Rey will face an El Clasico or go into extra time[WEIRUSHUI]

At 4 a.m. Beijing time on April 27th, the final of the 123rd Spanish King's Cup will be held at the Olympic Stadium in Seville. Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet again after 11 years to compete for the King's Cup championship. Eleven years ago, in the Copa del Rey final (i.e., the 2013-14 season), Real Madrid won the trophy with a 2-1 victory over Barcelona thanks to the memorable moment of Bale overtaking from the outside lane, leaving a deep impression on many fans. Now that the two sides meet again in the Copa del Rey final, it's another clash of titans and also a battle to defend Ancelotti's position as the head coach.

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Barcelona won their most recent La Liga home game 1-0 against Mallorca. So far this year, they have achieved an unbeaten record of 12 wins and 2 draws in 14 La Liga matches. With only 5 rounds remaining in the league, they have a 4-point lead over Real Madrid and hold the initiative in the league title race. However, compared with Real Madrid, which was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Barcelona is still distracted by the two-legged semi-final against the Italian powerhouse Inter Milan. Facing a rather tight schedule, the possibility of coach Flick making minor lineup changes in the Copa del Rey is not low. Pedri won the Best Player award for the first time in his career

It is worth mentioning that Pedri has just been named the La Liga Player of the Month for April. This is the first time in his career that he has received this honor. At the same time, he is the only player in the top five European leagues to have won the ball more than 200 times so far this season. In addition, Barcelona has as many as 12 first-team players expected to make their debut in the Copa del Rey final, especially led by the talented young player Yamal. Judging from the public opinions before the game, Barcelona has clearly become the favorite to win the Copa del Rey. However, we should not underestimate Real Madrid too much.

Real Madrid was defeated twice by Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, continuing the curse of never winning against the Gunners in the club's history. Despite achieving a three-game winning streak in La Liga, they still lag behind the leader Barcelona by four points. Before the liga-level El Clasico in May, in this El Clasico final of the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid naturally hopes to prove their strength. This is especially crucial for Ancelotti, whose position as the head coach is in jeopardy. After all, in 2023, Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey by defeating Osasuna in the final, allowing Ancelotti to remain in his position. This has increased the probability that Ancelotti will take a risky gamble with a 4-4-4 formation in this Copa del Rey final. The final of the Copa del Rey has become a battle to defend Ancelotti's position as the head coach

For Real Madrid, Bellingham connects the forward line, and Vinicius breaks through Barcelona's right-side defense at a single point, becoming a powerful weapon. Additionally, in the Copa del Rey final, they also need to restrict Barcelona's midfield ball distribution and cut off the cross routes from the flanks of Yanar and Rafinho. Whether this 4-4-2 formation can break through Barcelona's high-pressure pressing is also worth watching. The midfield battle between Bellingham and Pedri is also quite interesting.

This will be the eighth encounter between the two sides in the Copa del Rey. Previously, Real Madrid has won four times and Barcelona three times. This is the second most frequent match in the Copa del Rey final, only behind Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao (nine times).