Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has said that Spanish League rivals Real Madrid are the favourites to win their Copa Del Rey semi-final tie.
The Blaugranas and Real Madrid are set to face off in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In their last encounter in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona triumphed 3-1.
And speaking before Thursday’s first-leg fixture, Xavi praised Real Madrid’s trophy winning feats last season.
“They won the last titles and we are in the process of building,” Football Espana quoted Xavi as saying.
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“We beat them with extraordinary football last year, but it is also a Madrid that thrashed in Liverpool, at their Stadium.
“I have to be honest, I see them as favourites clearly. We are talking about the current champions of Laliga and Europe. But we can hurt them, we have already shown that we can do it. I think the the tie will be very even,” Xavi stated.
Barcelona are currently first place in Laliga with 59 points from 23 games while Real Madrid are second after acquiring 52 points from the same number of games.
