Will Barca roll over CF Intercity?
Things could not have gone worse for FC Barcelona last week. The Catalans only picked up a point in the city derby against Espanyol and thus squandered their lead over Real Madrid. FC Barcelona now have a cup match against CF Intercity coming up this week.
The bookmakers see the Catalans as clear favourites. For a CF Intercity vs. Barcelona bet on the visitors, odds of 1.13 are currently offered. If, on the other hand, the third division team surprises and knocks FCB out of the Copa del Rey with a home win, odds of more than 20.00 are on offer.
CF Intercity are in the third round of the Copa del Rey for the first time in the club’s history. In any case, it is only the second cup appearance for the Valencia club, which was founded in 2017. In the previous rounds, CF Intercity had eliminated lower-class opponents. FC Barcelona is expected to be the final stop.
The visitors from Barcelona will probably start the rotation machine and spare some key players for the upcoming league match. Because a second guard of the Catalans is also much stronger than the upcoming cup opponents, we think a prediction on the guests on the 1X2 market for CF Intercity vs. Barcelona is without alternative.
CF Intercity – Statistics & current form
CF Intercity are currently on a relegation course in the Spanish third division. After 17 matchdays, the club from Valencia has only 19 points. In the last league match, CF Intercity missed the jump to the save shore. However, the 16th-placed team showed an act of defiance in the cup match and reached the third round for the first time in the club’s history.
CF Intercity will now play FC Barcelona at home in the round of 32. The chances of reaching the round of 16 are vanishingly small, even if the FCB should start with a second guard. Not only in attack, but also in defence, the leaders from the Spanish top flight are clearly stronger than CF Intercity.
The only question that will probably arise in the Cup match on Wednesday evening is how high FC Barcelona’s victory will ultimately turn out to be.
Will the goal quota increase at home?
Nearly a month ago, CF Intercity met the FC Barcelona reserves. The match against the Catalan reserves ended in a goalless draw. It was the only home match this season in which CF Intercity did not score. In eight out of nine matches at home, the team of head coach Gustavo Siviero scored at least one goal.
However, it remains questionable whether this will be repeated against FC Barcelona, as neither their opponents in the third division nor their recent cup opponents were of the same calibre as FCB. Siviero will be able to draw from a full squad for the cup match against the Catalans and has no personnel worries to complain about on Wednesday evening.
Predicted line-up of CF Intercity:
Campos; Jaime, Murria, Kecojevic, Galvez, Cristo; Herrera, Mari, Xemi; Soldevila, Roige
Last matches played by CF Intercity:
Copa del Rey
21/12/2022 – CF Intercity 2 – 0 CD Mirandes
Primera Federacion – Group 2
17/12/2022 – SD Amorebieta 1 – 0 CF Intercity
12/12/2022 – CF Intercity 4 – 1 Alcoyano
07/12/2022 – La Nucia 0 – 0 CF Intercity
03/12/2022 – CF Intercity 0 – 0 Barca Atletic
Barcelona – Statistics & current form
For the draw against Espanyol Barcelona, FCB were punished by their championship rivals. The Madrilenians seized the opportunity and even overtook FC Barcelona in the meantime. However, with the point win in the city derby against Espanyol, the FCB equalised again on points.
For the Catalans, the result against their city rivals could not be glossed over. Not only because they conceded a goal against one of the weakest offensives in the league, but also because it was only the second time in the Spanish top flight that FC Barcelona did not record a win in their own stadium. In the seven home games before that, they had a record of 6-1-0.
During the week, FC Barcelona will have the chance to get over their frustration. Against CF Intercity, FCB coach Xavi will probably spare his first team and use a mixture of reserves and youngsters. There is enough leeway for that.
Does a Barcelona B eleven also deliver a shooting match?
In La Liga, head coach Xavi has recently dispensed with the use of reserves such as Depay, Kessié & Co. It is all the more important for the players to make a splash in the Copa del Rey and thus underpin their starting eleven ambitions. Especially on the offensive side, Xavi has numerous options for rotation.
Since the 2004/05 season, FC Barcelona has always reached the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. The FCB has even won the Cup seven times since then – the last time was in 2021, when the Catalans beat Bilbao 4-0 in the final.
It would therefore be more than surprising if the Catalans’ long cup streak ended this year against an opponent like CF Intercity, of all teams. Especially since FC Barcelona has played a promising season on the national stage so far.
Predicted line-up of Barcelona:
Pena; Araujo, Kounde, Garcia, Bellerin; Kessie, de Jong, Gavi; Memphis, Torres, Dembele
Last matches played by Barcelona:
La Liga
31/12/2022 – FC Barcelona 1 – 1 Espanyol
09/11/2022 – Osasuna Pamplona 1 – 2 FC Barcelona
06/11/2022 – FC Barcelona 2 – 0 Almeria
Champions League Grp. C
02/11/2022 – Viktoria Pilsen 2 – 4 FC Barcelona
La Liga
30/10/2022 – Valencia 0 – 1 FC Barcelona
CF Intercity – Barcelona Direct comparison / H2H balance
CF Intercity and FC Barcelona meet for the first time ever
CF Intercity – Barcelona Tip
FC Barcelona are looking to vent their frustrations after the derby draw against Espanyol. Although rotation is obvious, the leaders from the Spanish top flight should not struggle too much in the cup match against CF Intercity. After all, the Catalans’ Wednesday opponents have already stumbled in the Spanish third division.
After 17 matchdays, CF Intercity is even in a relegation battle. It would therefore be all the more surprising if the stumbling club from Valencia were to pull off a surprise in the cup match against FC Barcelona of all teams.
Wednesday’s match between the two clubs is a classic “David against Goliath” constellation. It only remains to be seen with which result FC Barcelona will bag their ticket to the last 16. Because even a B-team of the Catalans is clearly stronger than CF Intercity, we expect a shooting match on Wednesday evening.
For CF Intercity vs. Barcelona, we place our bet at odds of 2.20 on more than 1.5 goals in the first half. We are betting six out of ten possible units for this.
