Barcelona News: "The last time they had an extra day of rest, we beat them 5-1!" – Piqué questions Solari's comments on his schedule

Gerard Pique interviewed Santiago Solari on the schedule of the meetings after the coach of Real Madrid asked why Barcelona would have an extra day to prepare for Wednesday's Clasico, pointing out that the extra rest did not help Los Blancos at of the clash between the clubs in October.

The two La Liga giants meet midweek in the return leg of their semi-final Copa del Rey, with a tie at 1-1 after the first match at Camp Nou.

This competition will take place only three days after the visit of Madrid to Levante, while Barça is four days behind his 4-2 victory in Sevilla on Saturday.

The article continues below

Solari called the decision to give a club more rest than the other "curious" at his pre-game press conference, but Spades suggested that the shorter gap could in Real Madrid benefit, after an extra day of rest in October having hit them 5-1 by Barcelona in a match that cost his job to Julen Lopetegui, manager of the Blancos.

"The last time they had an extra day of rest, we beat them 5-1!" Pique said after his team's 4-2 win over Sevilla.

Similarly, Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde downplayed the situation, saying that while these things may have an effect, they are also issues that every club must deal with from time to time.

"Look, everyone can complain about the schedule," Valverde said. "Seville played Wednesday and today [Saturday].

"It depends on the club talking about it [the schedule]it can become a problem, but it happens to us all.

"If it happens, it happens."

Wednesday's clash is the first of two games in four days between the two ferocious rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu. The clubs will then play in La Liga on the following Saturday.

And despite a 12-point advantage over their rivals Clasico in La Liga, Pique is expecting both matches to be difficult for Barca.

"We are desperate to reach the cup final, so we have to focus on that first," he said.

"After that, our goal will be to send a statement to the top of the table."