Barcelona will attempt to move on to the next stage in the Copa del Rey when they head to Andalusia to take on third-tier side Linares Deportivo Wednesday evening with kickoff at 9:30 pm.
Barcelona is the reigning champions of the competition, having beaten Athletic Bilbao in last year’s final, and they are the most successful team ever, having lifted the trophy 31 times.
Linares Deportivo, who play in the third tier of Spanish football, was founded in 2009 and has never played at the top level, most recently operating in the fourth and third tiers.
The Little Blues were drawn against La Liga side Athletic Bilbao in the third round of the Copa del Rey, and they comfortably beat them in the first leg, putting themselves in a strong position to progress to the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Barcelona enters Wednesday’s match following a 1-0 win over Mallorca in La Liga. Despite having several players sidelined with injuries, the Catalan giants won.
But, even though Barcelona missed some first-team players due to injuries and influenza (coronavirus), the team secured a huge result on Sunday, moving up to the fifth position in the table, just one point behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid on the same number of games (19).
Barcelona is the most successful team in the history of the Copa del Rey, winning 31 times overall, including last season’s 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Linares Deportivo vs. Barcelona Head to Head
Both sides are yet to face against each other thus marking their first encounter. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Linares Deportivo 4-0 Sevilla Atletico
- Linares Deportivo 2-1 Deportivo Alaves
- Deportivo 0-0 RB Linenses
- Betis Deportivo 1-3 Linares
- Linares 0-0 Gimnastic
Away
- Mallorca 0- 1 Barcelona
- Sevilla 1-1 Barcelona
- Barcelona 3-2 Elche
- Barcelona 1-1 Boca Juniors
- Osasuna 2-2 Barcelona
Linares Deportivo Team News
Linares Deportivo is expected to field a side similar to that faced Alaves in the previous round, with Hugo Diaz deployed on the left-wing.
Fran Carnicer and Rodri are likely to start in midfield again. Still, head coach Gonzalez has plenty of options for change in the attacking areas, with Cristian Carracedo and Nando Copete fighting for starting roles.
Barcelona Team News
Barça will also be without Philippe Coutinho, Abde Ezzalzouli, Gavi, Ousmane Dembele, Alejandro Balde, Jordi Alba, and Sergino Dest in this game following recent positive coronavirus tests.
Prediction and Odds
Barcelona will again be missing several key players tonight, but the Catalan giants should have more than enough quality to comfortably progress to the last-16 stage of the competition once again. It’ll be their fiercest test yet though.
- Barcelona Win
- No Score: Home
- Goals Under 3.5
