Real Madrid vs Barcelona 2019 Copa del Rey Semifinal Odds

Real Madrid vs Barcelona is on Wednesday for a spot in the 2018-19 Copa del Rey final. Real Madrid drew Barcelona, 1-1, in the first leg of this semifinal, gaining the slight advantage with the road goal. This means that Barcelona must score at least one goal on Wednesday to have a chance, as the scoreless draw or a Real Madrid victory would put them through to the final, where they would meet Valencia or Real Betis. We have your soccer betting preview for the first of two Clasicos for this week, as the two teams also meet in La Liga play on Saturday.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona 2019 Copa del Rey Semifinal Odds

⚽🔥 Get pumped for tomorrow’s #RMClasico by reliving these GOLAZOS against Barcelona! #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/erCogiPRl4

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) 26 de febrero de 2019

When: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 3:00pm ET Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid TV: beIN Sports Radio: None Live Stream: fuboTV Soccer Odds: Real Madrid +134 / Barcelona +169

Why should you bet on Real Madrid?

Real Madrid can’t sit back and play conservatively, looking for the scoreless draw, because Barcelona has too much offense for Real Madrid to plan for a clean sheet. Real Madrid should be hungrier than Barcelona, as the club has not won the Copa del Rey since 2014 and only has two of those trophies since 1993, while Barcelona is going for their fourth consecutive win. REal looked fairly solid with a 2-1 win at Levante on Sunday, getting a goal from Gareth Bale, who is rounding back into form after a calf injury. Real Madrid trails Barcelona by nine points in La Liga, but they have played well as of late. They beat Ajax on the road in the opening leg of their Round of 16 tie in the Champions League. They have beaten Melilla, Leganes and Girona to make the semifinal of the Copa, hanging seven goals on Girona in that quarterfinal win. With upcoming matches against Barcelona (in La Liga) and Ajax in the second Champions League leg, this has to be an important match for them. Finally, there is the fact that Barcelona romped, 3-0, the last time the two teams faced off at this stadium.

Why should you put your money on Barcelona?

Barcelona has a number of priorities — La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey. They won the Copa for the 30th time last season, and they have been in seven of the last eight Copa del Rey finals, truly the dominant team when it comes to Spanish soccer. They defeated Cultural Leonesa, Levante and Sevilla, but, interestingly, they lost the road legs to both Sevilla and Levante and needed to make up for those mistakes when the leg came back home. They will not be able to rely on that on Wednesday. Barcelona needs to overcome a recent slide in their play. They did beat Sevilla, 4-2, this past weekend, but it took a hat trick from Lionel Messi to deliver the win. Before that, Barcelona drew 0-0 with Lyon in their first Champions League Round of 16 leg, and they have won just two of their last six matches in all competitions, relying heavily on Messi to come through in these situations. However, their last loss at Real Madrid came in October 14, and they know that they just need to win (or get a draw in which they score at least twice) to roll back to the final.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

This is the signature rivalry in Spanish soccer, which makes its occurrence in a semifinal almost disappointing. However, Real Madrid looks to be the hungrier side, while Barcelona is teetering a little bit on form. An off day from Messi could be all that it takes for Real Madrid to deliver the win in front of their home crowd, who will likely be raucous. I predict a final score of Real Madrid 3, Barcelona 2.