Barcelona continue their quest of retaining the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night, as they face La Liga 2 side Albacete in the quarterfinals.
Their 12th-placed opponents in the second tier may seem harmless on the surface, but they’ve been emboldened by their stunning upset of Real Madrid in the previous round and have subsequently won three on the bounce.
While Barça’s 4–1 victory over Copenhagen meant they avoided the Champions League knockout playoffs, this remains a fixture that Hansi Flick should consider heavy rotation for. Tuesday’s visitors were victorious in La Liga at the weekend, beating Elche 3–1 away from home.
Match Snapshot
- 🕒 Kick-off time: 8 p.m. GMT, 3 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. PT
- 📍 Location: Estadio Carlos Belmonte
- 🏆 Competition: Copa del Rey
- 📊 Recent form: LWWWW
Team News
- ⚠️ Key injuries, absentees, doubts: Pedri, Gavi, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha
- 🔢 Predicted formation: 4-2-3-1
Flick knew he was going to be without Pedri, Gavi and Andreas Christensen for this cup tie, but Barcelona were dealt another injury blow at the weekend.
Raphinha suffered an adductor strain in Saturday’s triumph and is set for a brief period on the sidelines. There’s hope that the Brazilian winger, who’s evolved into one of the world’s most productive performers since Flick took charge, will be fit for Barça’s next La Liga clash against Mallorca on Saturday.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Albacete (4-2-3-1)
GK: Joan García—García has developed into one of Europe’s best shot-stoppers, and his presence between the posts in the previous round suggests he’ll play on Tuesday night.
RB: João Cancelo—Jules Koundé has played a lot of football, so the Frenchman is among the contenders to earn some respite in the week. Cancelo was Barça’s sole purchase of the January window, and he could return to the starting XI here.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—Barça’s teenage star in defense has settled down after a fairly nervy start to the 2025–26 campaign. He’ll likely be tasked with taming Jefté Betancor’s threat after his heroics against Madrid.
CB: Gerard Martín—Martín looked good at center back in preseason and should come in to partner Cubarsí on Tuesday night, just as he did in the round of 16 against Racing Santander.
LB: Alejandro Balde—Flick was particularly complimentary of Balde in his pregame press conference, and the German may want to retain the Spaniard’s dynamism at left back in his starting XI.
CM: Frenkie de Jong—De Jong has been without Pedri as of late, but the Dutchman is continuing to thrive in Flick’s pivot.
CM: Marc Bernal—After coming off the bench against Elche, Bernal is expected to start on Tuesday night.
RW: Roony Bardghji—Flick said ahead of this cup tie that he has to be careful with his players’ minutes, and he can ill afford to burn Lamine Yamal out. Bardghji has often been bright when given the chance to shine this season.
AM: Dani Olmo—The Spanish international continued his productive run of form by recording an assist at the weekend, and he’s currently beating out Fermín López for minutes in the No. 10 role.
LW: Marcus Rashford—This is an easy decision for Flick due to Raphinha’s injury. Rashford is a shoo-in to start down the left, having scored in three of his previous four appearances.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona XI vs. Albacete: Flick Opts For Rotation—Injury News, Predicted Lineup.
