Barca start their Copa del Rey journey against Cornella, the local team from the Spanish third tier, playing just outside Espanyol’s stadium.
Team news
Barcelona
- Barcelona won’t be able to count on Sergino Dest, Gerard Pique, Philippe Coutinho, Sergi Roberto and Ansu Fati due to injury.
- Leo Messi is suspended after getting sent off against Athletic Bilbao.
Cornella
- Cornella will be without their centre-back Adrian Jimenez who is out with a knee ligament injury – he was the one to score the winner against Atletico Madrid in the previous Copa del Rey round.
- Barcelona have won 3 out of 6 last games, drawing the other 3 if only full-time results are counted.
- Cornella have won just twice in the last 6 games, including the sensational 1-0 victory against Atletico Madrid in the previous round.
- Cornella have never played against Barca but they have faced Barca B several times, losing 1-0 earlier this season.
Probable line-ups
Barcelona XI: Neto; Mingueza, Araujo, Umtiti, Firpo; Moriba, Pjanic; Trincao, Puig, Konrad; Braithwaite.
Ronald Koeman (Barcelona): “We know there are surprises in the Copa del Rey, it’s a Segunda Division B team playing at home on an artificial surface, we are not used to that. It’s a complicated match, for them it’s the game of the year, for us it’s the next game. We will prepare with seriousness, we have to get through this knockout stage because we’re Barca, but yes it’s a tough match and it depends a lot on the team’s attitude.”
Predictions
The Hard Tackle’s Anas Ali: Cornella 0-2 Barcelona
“Cornella have impressed the onlookers with their incredible defensive work-rate and determination in the last round against Atletico Madrid. However, replicate that performance against the mighty Barcelona side could be too big an ask for the third division outfit, who have not performed all too well in the league recently.
“In fact, Cornella were beaten by Barcelona B exactly a month ago and considering the perfect mix of youth and experience that the Catalan giants have in their team at the moment, it won’t be surprising to see the visitors clinching a comfortable 2-0 victory in this one.”
Barcelona face Cornella away in the Copa del Rey this Thursday, January 21. Kick-off is at 21:00 CET
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