Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media ahead of Real Madrid's Copa del Rey semi final first leg clash against Barcelona coming up on Thursday night.

The Italian coach did not give any clues about his starting eleven, but acknowledged the importance of the competition.

"It's going to be an entertaining game, the fans are going to enjoy it," he said.

"It's a game of 180 minutes to reach the final."

Preparations for a Clasico?

"You have to have personality and courage to face a match like this," he said.

"As always: we're looking forward to this game, it's always nice. We're not far away from playing a final.

"There are many things that allow us to enjoy this moment and try to do our best."

Dependence on Vinicius?

"It's a positive thing," he defended. "He is one of the best players in the world, who sometimes changes the game in our favour.

"It's normal to be dependent on him."

The Supercopa impact

"We have assessed everything. In the Supercopa, we lacked commitment and decisiveness, with individual mistakes that won't be repeated," he said.

"We are close to winning an important competition and we are going to compete. It's not the decisive match, but we want to take advantage."

Vinicius vs Araujo

"There is nothing special to say to Vinicius. We are not going to change. It's true that Araujo is a very strong defender, but it's going to be a very entertaining match. Hopefully Vinicius can win it."

Rudiger

"He is always concentrated and focused, he has improved his level but he can improve on the ball. With him and Militao we are more solid, because without Alaba they have given solidity to the centre of defence."