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Summary Real Madrid needs Cristiano Ronaldo to recover his confidence in match against Barcelona today.
Real Madrid needs Cristiano Ronaldo to recover his confidence against Barcelona when the two rivals start another clasico series Wednesday in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.Ronaldo has scored only twice in 13 career games against Barcelona, with his last goal coming in Aprils cup final to give Madrid its lone victory in the last 12 meetings over the Catalan club.The Portugal forward has been struggling since coming under criticism for squadering a number of scoring opportunities in last months 3-1 league loss to Barcelona, and has just one goal so far in 2012.Ronaldo is the leagues top scorer with 21 goals but was clearly frustrated Saturday as Madrid struggled to beat Mallorca 2-1 to maintain its five-point advantage over Barcelona.Meanwhile, Barcelona rival and recent Ballon dOr winner Lionel Messi continues to propel the Spanish champions, scoring twice in a 4-2 win over Real Betis on Sunday to take his overall goal tally this season to 33 goals six better than Ronaldo.Strikers live off of streaks, Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said on Monday. Leo has always been a player who can make a difference, a decisive player. And hes a player who grows in these types of games, which he loves playing.While Ronaldo is certain to start, coach Jose Mourinho must devise a tactical formation that can stop the 25-time cup champion without suspended defender Alvaro Arbeloa and injured midfielder Sami Khedira. Forward Angel di Maria trained for the first time in weeks on Monday but Pepe did not, which could leave Mourinho with a big hole to fill as the Portugal defender has played a key role in recent clasicos.You cant play well every game, Madrid forward Jose Callejon said after netting the winning goal against Mallorca. Its the little details that make the difference.
