Barcelona have named Lionel
Messi in the squad to face Real
Madrid in Wednesday's Copa del
Rey semi-final first leg, but will
"wait until the last moment" to
decide if he plays. The Argentine returned to training on
Tuesday after suffering a thigh injury
in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Valencia. "It is true that sometimes we have
had doubts with players and we have
waited until the last moment," said
manager Ernesto Valverde. "It's the same with Messi." Wednesday's tie at the Nou Camp will
be the first of three El Clasico's in 25
days, with the second leg on
Wednesday, 27 February and a La
Liga encounter on Saturday, 2 March. Forward Ousmane Dembele is also
unlikely to be fit for the first leg at the
Nou Camp, as he is still recovering
from a hamstring injury. Real Madrid have everyone available
apart from defender Jesus Vallejo,
who is out with a muscular issue. No Messi, no problem Messi's pedigree is undeniable and he
is the all-time leading scorer in this
fixture with 25 goals. However, the 31-year-old missed the
last meeting between the two sides in
October with a broken arm, as Luis Suarez's hat-trick saw Barca cruise to a 5-1 win. Barcelona also have a higher average
number of goals without him against
their fierce rivals, than when he is on
the pitch, albeit he has only been
absent from three games. Barcelona are about to embark on a
gruelling run of fixtures with league
games at Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla and
then Real in the next four weeks, as
well as two Champions League ties
against Lyon thrown in the mix. Nonetheless, a fit and available Messi
is clearly preferable for the La Liga
leaders who are giving their captain
the time he needs to to prove his
fitness. Messi missed training on Monday, but
during a 15-minute open session the
following day, a smiling Messi was
seen doing some light jogging and
taking part in a relaxed keep-ball
session. Is the tide changing at the
Bernabeu? Madrid were in disarray after the last
meeting between these two Spanish
giants as Barca moved back to the
top of the table, seven points clear of
ninth placed Madrid. Julen Lopetegui lost his job the
following day with the Champions
League holders owing his sacking to a
"great disproportion between the
quality of the staff of Real Madrid and
results". However, Los Blancos have moved
up to third in the table - eight points
behind Barcelona - having won their
past four league games, and they are
just two matches from a cup final. Whether it's a sign of defiance or just
tempting fate, manager Santiago
Solari says he hopes Messi is fit for
the first leg. "It's always good when the best
players get to play every game, but
whether or not he plays will not
influence the way we prepare for the
game at all," said Solari. With only Vallejo unavailable for the
visitors, Solari said: "It's harder to
pick a team when everyone is
available, but the important thing is
that every player puts their talent,
ability and effort at the service of the team." Real and Barca dominance Barcelona have a tight grip on this
competition having won the past four
finals to take their overall number of
Copa del Rey triumphs to 30 - more
than anyone else. Real are the third most successful
club, having won the trophy 19 times,
although they last claimed the title in
2014. The last time one of the Clasico clubs
did not win the competition was in
2012-13 when Atletico Madrid beat
city rivals Real, while the last time
one of the two giants did not
participate in the final was during the 2009-10 season when Sevilla lifted the
trophy. 2018-19 continues this trend, with one
of the two Spanish giants guaranteed
a spot in the final for the ninth year
running. Scores, Results & Fixtures WEDNESDAY 6TH FEBRUARY 2019 View all Spanish Copa del Rey
fixtures SPORT All Sport European Football WED 06 FEB 2019 SPANISH COPA DEL REY - 1ST LEG 20:00 Venue: Camp Nou Barcelona Real Ma...

Will dstv show the match?

I hope that Messi will play in the Classico. Cristiano Ronaldo has already left Laliga. We need to enjoy the game of Lionel Messi as much as we can. There is no doubt that both these players are freak of nature. We will never be able to see such an amazing rivalry. Am I right guys?