Barcelona begin their Copa del Rey journey against a team with nothing to lose and so much to prove.
Barcelona are back in Cup action! After limping out of the competition last year following a 3-2 defeat at San Mames, the Catalans have made this edition a top priority, even though La Liga remains the most important title to grab. They'll travel to the Valencian region of Spain to lock horns with a third division side who's well below Barça Athletic in the standings.
CF Intercity play their football in the third tier of Spanish football and have had to overcome Cirbonero and Mirandés to reach this stage. Even though their home stadium is Estadio Antonio Solana in Alicante, This game will be played in Estadio José Rico Pérez, the home stadium of Hércules, which has a 29,500 capacity compared to Intercity's stadium of 2500, where their fans can come out in droves to see their team play the biggest game in their 6 year history. Intercity actually played Barcelona B at the start of December, and the points were shared in a goalless draw, but it would be fair to say that this will be a different level entirely for the home side.
INTERESTING STATS
- Barcelona are the most successful side in the history of the competition, winning the trophy 31 times, the last being in 2020/21.
- Barcelona are also the side with the most finals appearances in the competition. They have made the showpiece event 42 times, the last being in 2020/21.
- Barcelona is only one of three teams to win the competition four years in a row. They are also the only side to do so in the post-World War II era.
- Intercity have never gotten past the last 32 round of the Copa Del Rey. In fact, this is their most successful campaign in the competition so far.
-This is the first meeting between both teams.
- There are no fewer than eight former Barcelona players in the current Intercity squad!
TEAM NEWS
Intercity
Intercity have not been in action since recording a 2-0 victory over Mirandes in the last round of the Copa del Rey, and they have not reported any fresh injury concerns.
While they go into the clash against Barcelona as massive underdogs, there is also an opportunity for them to make a name for themselves.
Gustavo Siviero’s side are likely to set up in a 5-3-2 formation and will in all likelihood remain changed from their last game.
Gaizka Campos should start in goal behind the back five of Guillem Jaime, Vadik Murria Soriano, Ivan Kecojevic, Rafa Galvez and Cristo Romero. The trio of Cristian Herrera, Miguel Mari and Xemi Fernandez should hold the fort in the middle of the park.
Oriol Soldevila Puig and Pol Roige should start up front.
Barcelona
Following the disappointing draw against Espanyol and ahead of the clash with Atleti, rotations are expected. Xavi has chosen to rest Pedri and Lewandowski for this one.
Iñaki Pena was registered with the first team in time and will likely start in goal. Araujo has been confirmed to start alongside Eric Garcia, and we'll likely see Hector Bellerin line up at Right back and Alba at left back.
Massive rotations are expected in the midfield as well, with Kessie and Torre itching for a start.
Memphis Depay will likely have a chance to convince Xavi that he's ready to start games again. Fati, who was disappointing against Espanyol, might be given another chance, along with Raphinha, who was more impressive at the weekend.
When and where is the Intercity v Barcelona game?
Location : Alicante (Spain)
Stadium : José Rico Pérez
Date : Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Time : 21:00 (🇳🇬time)
Referee : Valentin Pizarro Gómez
VAR : None
CONCLUSION
Barcelona were largely disappointing over the weekend, but they have a chance to put that behind them. CF Intercity will have to play the game of their lives to get anything out of this one, and given the gulf in quality between the two sides, any result other than a convincing Barcelona win will be deemed a huge upset.
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