Barcelona will attempt to avoid embarrassment against Barbastro on Sunday in the Copa del Rey when the two meet in Huesca. The home side are in the fourth tier of Spanish soccer while Barca are under pressure due to their sluggish La Liga form which positions them seven points off the pace being set by bitter rivals Real Madrid and this season’s surprise package Catalan outfit Girona. Xavi’s men have 31 Copa del Rey titles to their name and the legendary former player would dearly love to add another to that list but first must get past the last 32 stage which is tricky for both the Blaugrana and Real with fourth tier banana skin games. Barbastro stunned Almeria last time out with Franc Carbonell getting the only goal of the game to secure what is already a club best cup outing in their 90-year history. Ninth in Segunda Division RFEF Group 2 and unbeaten in five games, Barca cannot assume that this will be a walkover and a late win over Las Palmas will have prepared them for what should be a similar scrap. After this game, Barcelona will switch into Supercopa mode and head to Saudi Arabia to face Osasuna in the semifinals which could then pit them against Real or Atletico Madrid.
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Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, Jan. 7 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio Municipal de Deportes — Barbastro, Spain
- TV: ESPN+
- Odds: Barbastro +2000; Draw: +750; Barcelona -2000
Team news
Barbastro: Expect to see the same XI which eliminated Almeria in the last round with Adria de Mesa the leading scorer so far with four goals and likely to be joined by Oscar Gonpi and Hugo Bautista. Javito should feature in midfield alongside Kike Rausell who should also make the starting XI for this one.
Potential Barbastro XI: Fabrega; Val, Mingotes, Jaime, Carbonell; Javito, Rausell, I Garcia; Bautista, De Mesa, Gonpi.
Barcelona: Joao Cancelo took a knock against Las Palmas and is likely to be missing for a few weeks while Pedri, Marcos Alonso, Gavi and Marc-Andre ter Stegen remain out. Inigo Martinez is more likely to return in the Supercopa but expect changes from Xavi who could turn to Hector Fort and hand Vitor Roque his full debut after a substitute outing in midweek. Andreas Christensen, Joao Felix, Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez could also start while 16-year-old Pau Cubarsi will hope to feature.
Potential Barcelona XI: Pena; Fort, Christensen, Kounde, Balde; F Lopez, Romeu, Roberto; Yamal, Roque, Felix.
Prediction
This one might be tricky for a while for Barca but expect them to see off Barbastro eventually. It could be that the hosts resist for an hour or so but the Catalan giants’ superior quality should tell by the end. Pick: Barbastro 0, Barcelona 2.
