FC Barcelona looks to set a foot in the last four of the Copa del Rey with a win against Real Sociedad at Spotify Camp Nou in the quarter-final stage.
The Blaugranas thrashed AD Ceuta FC 5-0 in the last 16 stages while La Real beat Mallorca with a 1-0 margin.
FCB vs RSO Match Details
Date: Wednesday, 25 January 2023 / Thursday, 26 January 2023
Time: 21:00 (CET) / 01:30 (IST)
Venue: Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona
FCB vs RSO Match Preview
After surviving a scare in their close 4-3 win against CF Intercity in the round of 32 of Copa del Rey, FC Barcelona made sure not to make life uncomfortable again by facing another third-tier side in AD Ceuta. This time the Catalan giants blew apart their opposition 6-0 with Robert Lewandowski twice getting on the scoresheet and Raphinha, Ansu Fati and Frank Kessie following up. Barcelona’s excellence after the World Cup break continued as Xavi grabbed his first trophy as the club’s manager with the Spanish Super Cup triumph in Riyadh which was also the team’s first silverware after the departure of Lionel Messi in 2021. However, Xavi’s men had to fight hard for a victory against Getafe amid key players missing through suspension or injuries. Pedri’s first-half strike gave them the three points as they stretched their winning run to six games in all competitions and the unbeaten streak to eleven. Leading the La Liga table with 44 points, three points better off fierce rivals Real Madrid in second, the taste to win every other trophy is there formerly to help the club’s finances. On the sporting side, trophies will take the club back to its prestigious best. Alongside the fight for the league, Barcelona are willing to win the Copa del Rey this season making it to the semifinals for the 11th time in 13 seasons. The Blaugranas have not lost to Real Sociedad in any competition since 2016 including a 6-2 win in the double-legged quarterfinal of the Copa del Rey in 2017. However, Xavi will not like any sort of complacency creeping into the team carrying a decent momentum.
Quite like their counterpart, Real Sociedad are enjoying a magnificent league season as well as a promising run in the Copa del Rey. La Real sits third on the league table with 38 points firmly in the Champions League place, also being an outsider for the league title. The latter will be a tougher job to think of naturally for the quality of Spain’s top two sides but Sociedad have shown their eminence. Imanol Alguacil's side have won their last eight games on the spin in all competitions and have not tasted defeat since November last year. The club’s strengths will be put to test at maximum though this week as two daunting trips to Barcelona and Real Madrid awaits. The Catalan giants will be their opponents in the Copa del Rey where La Real have scored ten goals starting from Round 1 and conceded only one. Although the win against Mallorca was a one-goal affair with a fifth-minute strike from Roberto Navarro enough to send Real Sociedad through. They followed up that narrow success with a comfortable 2-0 La Liga win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. Hence, Alguacil's men enter this pivotal clash with a winning mentality and which should not fade away facing a top time in the competition for the first time. At this very stage, Real Sociedad’s journey in Copa del Rey ended last season with a 4-0 humiliating loss to Real Betis. They expect a change of fortunes this time around.
Recent Form (all competitions)
FCB: WWWDW
RSO: WWWWW
Recent Form (Copa Del Rey)
FCB: WW
RSO: WWWW
FCB vs RSO Team News
Real Sociedad will miss the service of David Silva for the Copa del Rey quarter-final due to some discomfort. He is likely to miss the club’s next game against Real Madrid in La Liga. Midfielder Martin Zubimendi has returned from his suspension which kept him out of the victory against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. However, Mikel Merino will be unavailable, among a host of others, with a muscle injury till next month.
For Barcelona, Andreas Christensen has overcome a slight hamstring problem that got him substituted at half-time in the league game against Getafe this weekend, to make the squad for the midweek clash. All the players are fine without any injuries with manager Xavi describing the situation as a luxury to have. The Spaniard will also decide on his goalkeeping option between competition regular Inaki Pena or the in-form Ter Stegen with the latter expected to get the obvious nod.
FCB vs RSO Predicted Lineups
FCB: Ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Jordi Alba; Pedri, Sergio Busquets, De Jong; Ousmane Dembele, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha
RSO: Alex Remiro; Aritz Elustondo, Igor Zubeldia, Le Normand, Diego Rico; Brais Mendez, Asier Illarramendi, Martin Zubimendi; Takefusa Kubo, Alexander Sorloth, Mikel Oyarzabal
FCB vs RSO Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Ter Stegen (6.5)
DEF: Kounde (7.5), Le Normand (6.5), Christensen (8), Alba (8.5)
MID: Raphinha (8), Pedri (7.5), Mendez (9)
FW: Oyarzabal (6), Lewandowski (9), Sorloth (8.5)
Vice-captain: Pedri
Captain: Robert Lewandowski
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