Madrid, March 3 – Real Sociedad are the favorites to secure a spot in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao in Wednesday's Basque derby. Real Sociedad won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao's San Mames Stadium in February, thanks to a goal from Benat Turrientes.
Athletic Bilbao has improved since that game, partly due to the return of players such as Dani Vivian, Yuri Berchiche, and Oihan Sancet from injury. Meanwhile, winger Alex Berenguer also appeared as a substitute in Saturday's 1-1 draw away against Rayo Vallecano.
The bad news for Athletic Bilbao is that midfielder Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta is unlikely to play after dislocating his shoulder over the weekend, according to Xinhua.
Real Sociedad still lacks winger Takefusa Kubo, but has winger Ander Barrenetxea available after he missed the first leg. Barrenetxea adds to coach Pellegrino Matarazzo's options in a fast and mobile Real Sociedad attack led by Spain international Mikel Oyarzabal.
Atletico Madrid crushed FC Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the other semifinal, with the return leg scheduled for Tuesday.
Now, in the return leg of that match, Barcelona face a daunting task as they look to overturn the huge deficit.
Three weeks later, Barcelona has recovered, with Raphinha fully fit again, Lamine Yamal back to his best, and midfielder Pedri recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the game at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Barcelona will also have gained confidence from an impressive 4-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday, inspired by a Lamine Yamal hat-trick, with Pedri and Marc Bernal pulling the strings in midfield. Frenkie de Jong tore his hamstring last week and will miss the game, while Robert Lewandowski will be out on Tuesday after suffering a fractured eye socket against Villarreal, but Marcus Rashford will return after a substitute appearance on Saturday.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone rested several key players at the weekend, with defenders David Hancko, Marc Pubill and Matteo Ruggeri all on the bench for the lucky 1-0 win in Oviedo. Giuliano Simeone and Julian Alvarez were also substitutes along with Antoine Griezmann, Marcos Llorente and Koke, and all will start on Tuesday night.
