The Copa del Rey has reached the semifinals and Barcelona are among the final four. The draw paired the Catalans with Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid, while the other semi will be a Basque derby between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. Both ties are expected to be high‑profile and will be decided over two legs.
Barcelona’s first leg takes place on Thursday night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, with the return leg scheduled for March at the Spotify Camp Nou. Barça head into the tie on the back of six consecutive wins, whereas Atlético have played two matches against Real Betis recently, winning one and losing the other.
Barça Universal identifies three talking points likely to shape the first leg.
An unexpected injury crisis. When the cup draw was made last week, Barcelona’s condition appeared encouraging, but the attacking picture has suddenly worsened. Raphinha, who missed the Albacete match with an injury, was expected to return for Mallorca but didn’t recover in time and is ruled out for tomorrow as well. Marcus Rashford, who did a terrific job filling in at the weekend, has also been declared unavailable for Thursday, leaving Barcelona without a natural left winger.
Pedri remains sidelined with his ongoing issue and will not be available in Madrid. Frenkie de Jong is only just coming back from a knock and did not feature against Mallorca, raising doubts about whether he has fully recovered. With several regular starters missing or questionable, Hansi Flick faces a tough selection dilemma that will heavily influence how Barcelona approach the tie.
The Bernal decision. With Pedri out and Eric García now settled at centre‑back, Flick has a slot to fill in midfield alongside de Jong — and the question is whether Marc Bernal is ready.
The youngster signalled a full return to fitness at the weekend with a fine solo goal and appears prepared to take on bigger responsibilities. He has started every Barcelona Copa del Rey match so far and could start again tomorrow, but the intensity Atlético are likely to bring means physical preparedness is crucial.
Flick’s established midfield solution without Pedri has been the De Jong–Dani Olmo–Fermín López trio, and the manager could opt to keep that combination and leave Bernal on the bench. However, the absence of a left winger creates an extra spot in the XI that either Olmo or López could occupy, theoretically allowing Bernal to coexist with those three. Whatever Flick decides about the youngster’s involvement will be fascinating to watch — his talent is evident, but the question is his readiness for a match of this intensity.
The need for smart planning. Taking the field at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano will be easier said than done for Barcelona, especially given the squad situation. The two‑leg format is critical here: Barcelona host the second leg, which changes the priorities for the first match.
Tomorrow’s objective should be to avoid overcommitting and to secure a respectable result rather than attempting to settle the tie in Madrid. Defensive solidity is the priority — limiting conceded goals matters more than chasing a flattering scoreline. Even a narrow lead in the first leg would be a positive outcome, and players must approach the tie thinking about 180 minutes, not just 90.
Avoiding rushed choices, controlling the game, keeping possession and playing simply would be the ideal approach from Barcelona’s standpoint; the team should not overcomplicate matters in a tie where they will have the decisive home leg in March.
