Three talking points ahead of Albacete vs Barcelona | Copa del Rey

Having secured four consecutive wins after their stumble against Real Sociedad, Barcelona returns to the field on Tuesday night to take on Albacete in the Copa del Rey.

The Spanish Cup is now in the quarterfinal stage, and a win tomorrow will take the Catalans to the final four of the competition. They must, however, take down the team that eliminated Real Madrid from the tournament.

Having been relegation threatened just a few weeks ago, the hosts have come back strong since beating Real Madrid and now stand on a run of four straight wins.

They have made their way back to 12th place in the Spanish second division and will look to keep their momentum going.

After all, Albacete will have nothing to lose, and all the pressure will be on Barcelona to play against the crowd and past the inspired hosts to progress to the final four.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Albacete vs Barcelona.

A formidable opposition

Albacete’s run in the Copa del Rey this season has been impressive on multiple levels, so much so that one cannot claim they were plainly fortunate on any level.

They took on Leganes in the second round of the competition and took them down by a 2-1 scoreline within regulation time to get past a team that was recently in the first division.

The next round saw them lock horns with La Liga side Celta Vigo, and they held the Galicians to a 2-2 draw before knocking them out on penalties.

In the Round of 16, Albacete were paired up against Real Madrid and their path in the competition appeared to be coming to an end. Yet, they did the unthinkable and beat Los Blancos by a 3-2 margin, with Real Madrid not even leading for a minute in the game.

Barcelona, thus, can simply not afford to see Albacete for anything less than what their merit speaks for. Playing at their home stadium, moreover, it will be a difficult result for them to churn out.

After all, Albacete have won three out of three games after the Real Madrid clash and are currently riding high on form. Moreover, they will have nothing to lose on Tuesday and will come out looking to knock out another heavyweight from the competition.

The rotation equation

Hansi Flick will make some rotations against Albacete. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

While it is true that Hansi Flick has taken all Copa del Reymatches this season seriously without underestimating the opposition, the manager understandably makes it a point to throw in a hybrid team for such games.

Striking the right balance between starters and rotations, after all, can help provide much-needed rest to big names across the ninety minutes – and Tuesday will be no different. The question, however, is to what extent the manager will rotate his XI.

For starters, one can expect the full-backs to be given a rest on the night, with Joao Cancelo and Gerard Martin possibly starting as the two full-backs. Pau Cubarsi, meanwhile, could be paired with Ronald Araujo, who is well poised to make a return.

Frenkie de Jong is expected to continue pulling the strings in midfield, but it remains to be seen if Marc Casado or Marc Bernal join him in the task. The latter is rumoured to be set for a start, but the manager will make the decision considering several factors.

In attack, one can expect the likes of Marcus Rashford and Roony Bardghji to get a start against Albacete, especially with Raphinha unavailable and Lamine Yamal in need of rest. 

The mainstays will come on in the second half, but even the rotated side should be more than good enough to keep Albacete at bay and secure a decisive advantage by that point.

A need to be clinical

One recurring theme in Barcelona’s last two domestic away games has been their poor finishing – something that has to improve heading into tomorrow’s clash.

The Catalans struggled and lost against Real Sociedad last month after they could not convert any of their chances against the Basque side despite creating opening after opening.

More recently, they faced a similar situation against Elche in La Liga when they created an xG of over six against Eder Sarabia’s side, but could score only three goals in a game where they could well have had ten goals.

Creating chances against Albacete will not be difficult, and one can trust Barcelona’s attacking firepower to have enough to constantly trouble them. The question, therefore, will come down to how clinical they can be.

If Barcelona can remain clinical in front of goal, they could well have the result buried by half-time, but a performance similar to that against Real Sociedad or Elche could well see them under serious pressure.

It is time for the Catalans to begin being more decisive in the final third and taking all their chances. After all, football is about making the most of opportunities.