Real Madrid draw Barcelona in Clasico Copa del Rey semi-finals

Clasico rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona will face off in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after being drawn together on Friday.

The first leg of the tie will take place at Camp Nou on February 6 before the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu in the final week of February.

It will mark the first time the two sides have met since Barca thrashed Madrid 5-1 in October in what proved to be Julen Lopetegui's final match in charge of the Blancos.

The two giants of Spanish football have held a monopoly over the Copa in recent years, winning eight of the last 10 editions between them.

Barca are going in search of their fifth successive domestic cup triumph, but have had to do things the hard way so far this season.

They came from behind against Levante and Sevilla having lost the first legs of both their last-16 and quarter-final clashes respectively, with Lionel Messi called into action at Camp Nou on both occasions having been rested for the away legs.

Manager Ernesto Valverde had seemingly hoped to hold Messi back and keep him fresh for La Liga - where Barca currently hold a five-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid - and the Champions League.

Madrid, meanwhile, have enjoyed a more straightforward route to the last four, beating Girona 7-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.

With Santiago Solari's side 10 points behind Barca already in La Liga, the Copa del Rey offers Santiago Solari his most realisitc opportunity of domestic silverware, and as such his first two Clasico matches as Madrid manager are likely to hold extra significance.

OSCAR DEL POZO

His third in charge will soon be around the corner too, with the second leg set to take place on February 27 or 28 while the Bernabeu will host the second league Clasico of the campaign on March 2.

The draw also sees Madrid faced with a daunting gauntlet of matches during the first two weeks of February across three competitions.

They face fifth-place Alaves in La Liga at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday before their trip to Catalunya for the first leg of their Copa Clasico double-header.

Solari's side then face local rivals Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metripolitano on February 9 before travelling to Amsterdam to face Ajax in the Champions League four days later.

Meanwhile, in the other semi-final, Real Betis will take on Valencia, with the final set to be played in Sevilla on May 25.