Football: Barcelona to start Copa del Rey title defense away to third-tier Guadalajara

Madrid, Dec 15 (IANS) Reigning Copa del Rey holder FC Barcelona will start its title defence campaign when Hansi Flick’s side visits third-tier Guadalajara in the third round of the tournament on Tuesday night.

Barcelona would make changes to the starting 11 that faced Osasuna on Saturday, with players such as Andreas Christensen, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Casado, and Fermin Lopez all likely to start, while Marc Andre Ter-Stegen could make his first appearance following his back operation in the summer.

Robert Lewandowski was an unused substitute in Saturday’s 2-0 win, but is a doubt with a slight physical problem.

Guadalajara play in the RFEF I division and lost 3-1 to Real Madrid’s B-team on the weekend.

On Wednesday, Real Madrid travel to Talavera, who play in the same division as Guadalajara.

On Thursday, Atletico Madrid visits Atletico Baleares (the side that knocked out Espanyol in the last round), and Athletic Bilbao travels to play an Ourense side that has already beaten top-flight rivals, Oviedo and Girona.

Over the weekend, Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo scored to give Real Madrid a 2-1 win away to Alaves on Sunday, trimming the gap to La Liga leader FC Barcelona to four points. Mbappe opened the scoring in the 24th minute after an excellent run before firing into the top corner.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced a fine save to deny Pablo Ibanez on the stroke of halftime, but Carlos Vicente levelled for Alaves in the 68th minute with a goal initially ruled offside before VAR overturned the decision.

Rodrygo restored Real Madrid’s lead in the 76th minute after good work from Vinicius Jr, but then left the pitch with a calf injury.

Meanwhile, Barcelona won 2-0 at home to Osasuna on Saturday, with Raphinha scoring both goals in the last 20 minutes. His first goal came from outside the area, while the second was slotted home from close range four minutes from time.

bsk/