Jasper Cillessen was penned in to leave the club in the summer, yet nobody could quite get a deal over the line, and with him staying nobody expected Marc-Andre ter Stegen to take part in the Copa del Rey, but Barcelona are now relying on the German to reach the final.
Few can argue against the former Borussia Monchengladbach stopper’s status as one of the truly elite goalkeepers in world football, and he’s been incredibly reliable since Ernesto Valverde took charge.
Rather ironically, Ter Stegen enters Wednesday’s fixture in the knowledge that if he helps the Blaugrana over the line it’s likely he won’t be featuring in the showpiece final in May. Ter Stegen has only managed to keep a clean sheet once against Real Madrid in eight matches, a statistic that makes for grim reading for Barcelona supporters heading into Wednesday’s match.
With Los Merengues having taken a crucial away goal away from the Camp Nou, the LaLiga Santander champions will have to score on Wednesday, something which may see them leave their own defensive area open to the counter attack as the match progresses. It’s again important not to place too much weight on statistics, but the fact the German stopper has shipped 12 goals in eight meetings with Real Madrid is little encouragement ahead of a night where realistically you feel the Catalan giants can’t afford to concede.

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