FC Barcelona will take on Unionistas de Salamanca in their Copa del Rey round of 16 match at the Campo de Futbol Reina Sofía on Thursday.
Having suffered a massive 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 14, Xavi’s men are surely low on confidence and they won’t get a better chance than this one to regain their lost form as they are facing a side much inferior in quality.
Prediction:
Barcelona are not just having on-field issues, but the pressure is growing on head coach Xavi Hernanadez from the management and he has very little time to convince the board. An entertaining night can be expected as Xavi will go all-out attack against the Salamancas.
Prediction: Unionistas de Salamanca 1-5 Barcelona
Team News
Salamanca’s boss Dani Ponz will not make many changes to the side that stunned Villarreal on penalties, but considering the players’ fitness and all, a change or two is likely to be made. Their midfielder Javi Villar, who is on loan from Real Madrid Castilla, would be aiming to shine in midfield against his parent club’s arch-rivals so he could gain the spotlight.
On the other hand, Xavi will make changes from the side that lost to Madrid on the weekend as some of his players are tired and he wouldn’t be willing to field a tired side in a must-win match.
Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo will miss the encounter due to suspensions and Barca are already without Marcos Alonso, Inigo Martinez and Joao Cancelo. Despite missing many players, it is very unlikely that the Blaugrana will suffer tonight.
Lineups
Unionistas de Salamanca (4-4-2): Martinez; Camus, Mayor, Gimenez, Jimenez; Gomez, Nespral, Villar, Planas; Slavy, Losada.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Pena; Roberto, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Fermin, Romeu, De Jong; Torres, Roque, Felix.