Next low blow for reeling Barca?
There has been no shortage of surprises in the Spanish Cup in recent years. Time and again, the country’s supposed top teams have found it extremely difficult and in many cases have had to pull out early. One of the few constants, however, has been FC Barcelona, who have won the Copa del Rey no fewer than five times in the past seven seasons.
But that impressive run is now in jeopardy for the defending champions as they face elimination in round three on Wednesday night. Although coach Xavi’s team will only be facing a third-division team, the lack of personnel on the Catalans’ side ensures that the away task in Andalusia will not be a foregone conclusion. This is also underlined by the odds on the favourites between Linares and Barcelona, which have increased to 1.34 in recent days.
Under normal circumstances, everything would certainly speak in favour of a commanding success for the Blaugrana, but the infection happening within the team leaves the heavily indebted top club trembling. And this despite the fact that the improved C eleven already scored three almost surprising points in Mallorca at the beginning of the year. An easing of the situation cannot be expected in the short term, which is why a prediction on the guest in the third round of the Spanish King’s Cup between Linares and Barcelona should also be taken with extreme caution.
Linares – Statistics & current form
This is only the eighth time that CD Linares have taken part in the Copa del Rey. After 2006/07, the Andalusian club made it to the third round for the second time. But FC Barcelona, the record winner of the Spanish Cup, will be waiting there.
Last year, the third-division club did not necessarily have the luck of the draw when it lost 2-0 at home to Sevilla in the second round. Nevertheless, it was positive that the underdogs did not score 0:1 until the 44th minute. The preliminary decision was due to an own goal immediately after the change of ends. Nevertheless, the club from the south of the country, which was only founded in 1990, earned a lot of respect for their courageous performance.
Linares is in a good mood
On Wednesday, however, coach Alberto Gonzalez’s team certainly fancies its chances of sensationalism. On the one hand, the third-division team is in excellent form and has scored 16 points from the past six league games. On the other hand, the special circumstances of the weakened opponents mean that a surprise coup should not be ruled out.
The fact that the Andalusians are currently going through the roof in the Primera RFEF Grupo 2 is also extremely unexpected. Five of their six wins this season have come in the last six matches. In total, only three goals have been conceded during this run of success.
Linares have been particularly strong at home, picking up ten points from their last four home games, including beating Real Madrid’s second team. Their last home defeat was on 29 October, when they lost to FC Barcelona’s reserve team, i.e. most of the players they will face again in the Copa del Rey.
Predicted line-up of Linares:
Juskevicius; Perejón, Guerrero, Josema, Marín; Sanchidrián, Meléndez, Rodri, Carnicer; Copete, Etxaniz
Last matches played by Linares:
Primera Division RFEF – Group 2
12/19 2021 – Linares Deportivo 4 – 0 Sevilla Atletico
Copa del Rey
12/14 2021 – Linares Deportivo 2 – 1 Deportivo Alaves
Primera Division RFEF – Group 2
12/11 2021 – Linares Deportivo 0 – 0 Linense
12/04 2021 – Betis Deportivo Balompie 1 – 3 Linares Deportivo
Copa del Rey
12/01 2021 – Linares Deportivo (6)0 – 0(5) Gimnastic
Barcelona – Statistics & current form
At FC Barcelona, things continue to go haywire these days. As if the tense financial situation and the continuing sporting failure on the national and international stage were not enough reasons to feel for the Catalans, a wave of infections has now hit the former Spanish champions and European Cup winners with full force.
In the first competitive match of 2022, a maximum of a B eleven was on the pitch in Mallorca. Especially in the offensive, coach Xavi even had to call on Luuk de Jong, whose transfer to Cadiz was about to be finalised. The fact that the Dutchman of all people scored the decisive 1-0 winner just before half-time therefore probably falls under the heading of “only football writes these stories”.
How important is the Copa del Rey to those in charge?
With all the joy about the fourth league win in the seventh game under coach Xavi Hernandez, the performance must be put into perspective, however, in that Marc Andre ter Stegen had to save in the greatest of emergencies time and again and the Catalans should not have complained about a draw.
The situation will be made even more difficult on Wednesday by the fact that the coach will once again be rotating his already thin first eleven in a number of positions ahead of Saturday’s important away game in Granada. The Copa del Rey is not particularly high on the agenda at the moment, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see a mixture of reserves and youth players deployed. Consequently, we’d pass on a tip between Linares and Barcelona in favour of the more notable of the two clubs.
Barca in early cup rounds mostly without fireworks
We think even a close game is realistic, so it might make sense to bet on the underdog from League Three not being behind at the break. This is also supported by the fact that Barca have only been ahead after 45 minutes in eight of the 25 matches they have played.
In the cup, the Blaugrana have not necessarily covered themselves with glory in the early rounds either. Although they have won five titles in the last seven years, the crisis-ridden club have struggled in their opening games. In 2020/21, they went into extra time against Cornellá; in 2019/20, they overturned a 1-0 half-time deficit against Ibiza; and in 2018/2019, they only managed a lacklustre 1-0 win over Leonesa, also in the second round.
Predicted Barcelona line-up:
Neto; Alves, Piqué, García, Araújo; F. de Jong, González, Puig; Akhomach, L. de Jong, Jutglà
Last matches played by Barcelona:
LaLiga
01/02 2022 – Mallorca 0 – 1 Barcelona
12/21 2021 – Sevilla 1 – 1 Barcelona
12/18 2021 – Barcelona 3 – 2 Elche
Club friendlies
12/14 2021 – Barcelona (2)1 – 1(4) Boca Juniors
LaLiga
12/12 2021 – Osasuna Pamplona 2 – 2 Barcelona
Linares – Barcelona Direct comparison / H2H balance
For Linares it is the first competitive match against the great FC Barcelona. Against the reserve team of the FCB, however, the record is already once clearly negative. In five games, there have been two draws and three defeats – one of them in the current season when, after a goalless first half, an own goal in the final minute of all things ensured a narrow 2-1 victory for the second team of the Catalans. Some of the duels that took place in the third division around two months ago will be back in the cup on Wednesday night.
Linares – Barcelona Tip
At first glance, the third round of the Copa del Rey between CD Linares and FC Barcelona looks like a typical David versus Goliath duel. However, the signs are not quite so clear-cut, even though the home side are only in the lower mid-table of the third division and the visitors from Catalonia have lifted the King’s Cup five times in the last seven years.
However, if we look at the current circumstances, it is quite understandable why the betting odds on the favourite to win between Linares and Barcelona have risen noticeably recently. First and foremost, of course, is the lack of personnel in the Xavi team. The coach will also be forced to show improvisational talent on Wednesday evening. There are many indications that the Barca eleven will consist primarily of reserve and youth players.
Apart from that, it should not be ignored that the Andalusians have picked up 16 points from their last six league games and have thus presented themselves in strong form. In addition, the Blaugrana have remained rather pale in the early cup rounds in the past. Regularly, there were only narrow victories, sometimes even after extra time and mostly with late decisions.
Against this background, we have come up with a tip before the third round match between Linares and Barcelona that the underdogs will not be behind at half-time.
