Barcelona, Real Madrid Drawn Together for Copa del Rey Semifinal Clasico

The two rivals will meet in the two-legged semifinal in February, prior to their final meeting in La Liga.

Barcelona have drawn Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semifinals, meaning the second Clasico of the season will be coming a bit earlier than expected. 

The defending champions will face the toughest challenge yet in their defence of the trophy over two legs, the first of which will be this coming Wednesday, when Real Madrid visits Camp Nou. The second leg comes on Feb. 27–five days before the two sides are slated meet again at the Bernabeu for their second La Liga meeting of the season.

The draw was conducted on Friday, and it means the two giants will face off for the right to face the winner of the Real Betis vs. Valencia semifinal in the final. Barcelona has captured the last four Copa del Rey titles and has the most titles of all time with 30.

Barca overcame a 2-0 first-leg deficit with a resounding 6-1 win over Sevilla in the second leg to get this far, while Real eased past Girona 7-3 on aggregate.

The earlier meeting between the two sides resulted in a rout, as Barcelona won 5-1 winners at Camp Nou, with Real Madrid sacking Julen Lopetegui soon after. 

Things have turned around for the Madrid giants since, however, with Santiago Solari's arrival instigating a change in fortunes that has seen some fans grow hopeful of cup silverware – either in the Copa del Rey or in Europe. 

The semifinal meeting could tell a lot about how far they have come since Lopetegui's sacking, and they will be desperate to stop their great rivals from having the chance to clinch another domestic double.