((STREAMS>)) Barça vs Barbastro Live Broadcast Free 7 January 2024 Today
Barcelona vs Barbastro Live Stream: How to watch Spanish Copa del Rey game online. Barcelona's journey towards potential Copa del Rey glory continues with a trip to face minnows Barbastro.
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The home side currently play in the fourth tier of Spanish football, specifically in the Segunda Federacion - Group 2. This is not the first La Liga side that they have faced in the competition so far, having knocked Almeria out in the previous round to set up this tie.
Barcelona only narrowly beat Las Palmas in their midweek league fixture and it is fair to say that they are now outsiders to defend their title, so the last thing that Xavi needs is a surprising exit in the Copa del Rey to make people even more disgruntled.
Here is all that you need to know about Barbastro vs Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.
What time does Barbastro vs Barcelona kick-off?
Location: Barbastro, Spain
Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Deportes
Date: Sunday 7 January
Kick-off Time: 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
Referee: Ignacio Alonso Lopez
Barbastro team news
Naturally, Barbastro are expected to name the same team that led them to victory against Almeria in the previous round of the tournament.
The top scorer is Adria de Mesa with four goals, so he will certainly be leading the line and he is likely to have Oscar Gonpi and Hugo Bautista offering him support throughout the game.
Barbastro predicted lineup vs Barcelona
Barbastro predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-3-3): Fabrega; Val, Mingotes, Jaime, Carbonell; Javito, Rausell, I Garcia; Bautista, De Mesa, Gonpi.
Barcelona did not escape the Canary Islands unscathed as Joao Cancelo suffered an injury which, although initially feared to be serious, may not actually keep him on the sidelines for too long. He joins Pedri, Marcos Alonso, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Gavi on the sidelines. Inigo Martinez is also likely to be left out so as to not aggravate his muscle injury before the Supercopa.
There is a good chance of full debuts here for Hector Fort and new boy Vitor Roque, the latter coming off of the bench against Las Palmas in what was his first-ever Barcelona appearance.
Barcelona are of course the overwhelming favourites to win this match and get into the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, but Xavi's side are not exactly convincing anyone right now. It would be typical of this modern Barcelona to make a bit of a meal of this.
They will win, but don't be surprised if it takes a while to make the breakthrough or if Barbastro threaten an upset at some point in the contest.
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.
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.
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.
Barbastro beat La Liga side Almería to reach this point, so they’ve already proven they are capable of a major upset against a team that gave Barça all they could handle in the final game of 2023. This is undoubtedly the biggest game in Barbastro’s history, and nearly 6,000 fans will fill the Municipal Stadium to try and will their team to their most famous ever victory.
The gap in quality is immense, even for a Barça side expected to be filled with youngsters and reserves, and the Blaugrana should advance without much trouble against a team three divisions below them. The Catalans aren’t exactly in great form, but they should be more than good enough to move on to the Round of 16 before they leave for Saudi Arabia and the Spanish Super Cup.
But every cup competition around the world is filled with games where a team that has no business playing a giant in the country finds a way to overcome every possible adversity and shock the world with a famous result. This is Barbastro’s hope for Sunday’s match, and Barça’s job is to kill the game off as early as possible to not give the home team any hope.
Barbastro etched their name in history when they defeated La Liga side Almeria in a thrilling 1-0 contest. With their best performance in the competition in their club's history, Barbastro are capable of producing another shock against Xavi's men.
FC Barcelona needed a last minute spot-kick from Ilkay Gundogan to save faces against Las Palmas as they snatched a 2-1 victory. Facing Barbastro in the Copa del Rey, Xavi would be hoping to test his bench strength against their opposition and also witness some of his players gain confidence.
Barbastro could start with the same eleven that featured against Almeria with top goalscorer Adria De Mesa touted to lead the forward battery having netted four goals this season.
The Blaugrana revealed that former Man City right-back Joao Cancelo has a left MCL strain ruling him out of the fixture. Spanish youngster Hector Fort could be well in line to be awarded a start by Xavi in place for Cancelo with multiple stars touted to be rested for the cup clash.
While Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Inigo Martinez, and Marcos Alonso continue their stint on the sidelines. La Masia graduates Pedri and Gavi are the other names who are nursing their respective injuries with the latter scheduled to return next term.