Barça looks for a balsamic pass to Copa quarters with Leganés as an obstacle

Published:29/01/2020 - 19:24h

Updated:30/01/2020 - 16:33h

After the painful league defeat against Valencia, FC Barcelona will look for the ticket to the quarterfinals of Copa del Rey by measuring a single match against Leganés at Camp Nou

The FC Barcelona will play this Thursday the pass to the quarter-finals of the Glass of Rey. The Barcelona will contest the eighth in the Camp Nou against the Leganés to the 19:00 hours (peninsular schedule Spanish) of this Thursday with the need of a triumph balsámico that help to surpass the painful defeat that the Catalan team suffered in Mestalla against Valencia the past weekend in LaLiga.

After three parties at the head of the first staff of the FC Barcelona, Quique Setién still has not given with the key to do work to the team of form convincente. The flat and predictable game in attack and the defensive fragility are complicating the starts of the Cantabrian technician, that already announced in press conference that would include changes in the alignment to measure to the Leganés.

Without being able to have the lesionados Luis Suárez, Ousmane Dembélé and Net, the eleven of Setién against the 'pepineros' is an incógnita. It does not expect a revolution in the team to the height of the exhibited against the Ibiza, but yes some retouchings in this 3-5-2 in which the santanderino is trusting until the moment. Like this the things, players like Clément Lenglet, Nélson Semedo or Arturo Vidal could have the opportunity to be headlines.

The greater doubts in the preparation of the eleven find in the medullary and in the defence, since it would not be descartable that Setién recovered the 4-3-3 of Ernesto Valverde. After the little reliability that offered in Mestalla the trio Of Jong-Busquets-Arthur or of the ineffectiveness like head offices of players like Umtiti or Sergi Roberto, avecinan changes. Up, innegociable the pair Messi-Griezmann.

All so that the FC Barcelona can recover this intense pressure that was missing in Mestalla and this depth and speed of circulation of ball that carries being missing during too many parties. And, of course, also waiting that the club can close the incorporation of this '9' that demands Setién and that, for the moment, will have to suplir with a Griezmann that already had to go out to the rescue against the Ibiza.

In the draw, the luck smiled to the Barça and decided that the culés played his note to quarter-finals in the Camp Nou in an eliminatory that, remember, is to only party. There will be, of course, margin of error with an inferior team on the paper. The Ibiza already warned to the blaugranas of the expensive that can pay the errors and the group of Setién already was against the ropes. Lessons that have to learn.

If we throw of precedents, the FC Barcelona and the Leganés never have measured in an eliminatory of Glass of Rey. To date, both groups have confronted in until seven occasions, all they in the national championship of LaLiga and all very recent. The balance is very favourable to the Barcelona group, that has imposed in six occasions.

The only victory that the Leganés has achieved on the Barça took place the sixth day of the past season and did not go in the Camp Nou, stage of the eliminatory copera of this campaign, but it was in Butarque (2-1). It treats of a duel of bitter memory for the culés, that went winning the meeting but that, in two individual errors sucedidos in an alone minute, threw all the work by earth.

The Leganés, a team that has gone of less to more

The Leganés is living a season complicated, but is in a clear ascending line. It initiated the present campaign with a very bad series of results that propició the cessation of Mauritius Pellegrino. Luis Cembranos turned into the interim technician -directed three parties- until the arrival of Javier Aguirre, a trainer that has achieved to change the line of results in spite of that it still has not attained to take out of the descent to the 'pepineros'.

Regarding the course of the team in Glass of Rey, with three rounds surpassed, the Leganés has imposed to the Andorra of Gerard Hammered (by penaltis), to the Real Murcia (0-4) and to the Ebro (0-1). In LaLiga Santander, the picture blanquiazul is penultimate with 15 points, situating to three of the salvation, after having won three parties, empatado six and stray 12.

It is necessary to take into account also that the Leganés will arrive to the Camp Nou as second worse instrument visitor of the category without having won neither an alone party out of house in the present course, having obtained only five points of the 27 possible in five ties, five defeats and any victory. In the only precedent between both in the current campaign, the Barça imposed in Butarque (1-2).

Aguirre, in press conference, left clear that his team has options in spite of not splitting like favourite: "The team arrives well, go with the idea to happen of round, to a party have our legitimate aspirations. It would not say you that we are favourite because mentiría, but will have our opportunity in Barcelona". The Mexican technician will have the important drop of the defence Dimitros Siovas, lesionado in the knee.