Barcelona continue their struggle to remain in the Copa del Rey when they face La Liga second-division side Albacete in the quarter-finals on Tuesday night.
Their opponents, who are 12th in the second division, may seem innocent at first glance, but they were encouraged by their stunning upset of Real Madrid last week and have won three times since then.
Barça avoided progressing to the Champions League knockout stages with a 4-1 win over Copenhagen, but manager Hansi Flick should still consider keeping this match in heavy rotation. The visiting team on Tuesday secured a victory in La Liga over the weekend, defeating Elche 3-1 away.
Snapshot matching
- 🕒 Kickoff time: 8pm GMT, 3pm ET, 12pm PT
- 📍 Location: Estadio Carlos Belmonte
- 🏆 competition: copa del rey
- 📊 Recent forms: LWWWW
team news
- ⚠️Major injuries, absences, and suspicions: Pedri, Gabi, Andreas Christensen, Rafinha
- 🔢 Expected formation: 4-2-3-1
Flick knew they would be without Pedri, Gabi and Andreas Christensen for this cup game, but Barcelona suffered further injuries over the weekend.
Rafinha suffered an adductor strain in Saturday’s win and is expected to be sidelined for a short period of time. There are hopes that the Brazilian winger, who has evolved into one of the world’s most productive performers since Flick took over, will be fit for Barça’s next La Liga game against Mallorca on Saturday.
Expected lineup for Barcelona vs. Albacete (4-2-3-1)
GK: João Garcia– Garcia has developed into one of Europe’s best shot-stoppers and his presence between the posts in the last round suggests he will play on Tuesday night.
RB: João Cancelo-Jules Kounde has played a lot of football, so the Frenchman is one of the candidates to get some rest this week. Cancelo was Barca’s only signing in January and could now return to the starting lineup.
CB: Pau Kubalsi— Barça’s teenage defensive star has calmed down after a rather nervous start to the 2025-26 season. After his heroics against Madrid, he will be tasked with containing the threat of Jehute Betancor.
CB: Gerard Martin— Martin looked good as a center back in preseason, so he should play against his partner Kvarsi on Tuesday night, just as he did against Racing Santander in the round of 16.
LB: Alejandro Balde– Coach Flick specifically praised Balde in his pre-match press conference, and the German may want to keep the Spanish left-back’s dynamism in his starting lineup.
CM: Frenkie de Jong–De Jong has been without Pedri recently, but the Dutchman continues to improve around the flick.
CM: Marc Bernal— Bernal came off the bench against Elche and is expected to start Tuesday night.
RW: Rooney Buljige– Flick said ahead of this cup match that he has to be careful about players’ playing time and that he cannot afford to wear out Lamine Yamal. This season, Baljiji has often appeared cheerful when given opportunities to shine.
AM: Dani Olmo—The Spanish international continued his form with an assist over the weekend and is currently playing minutes ahead of Fermin López in the number 10 role.
LW: Marcus Rashford–With Rafinha’s injury, this is an easy decision for Flick. Rashford starts on the left wing and has scored in three of the last four games.
ST: Robert Lewandowski— Ferran Torres has emerged as Barcelona’s starting centre-forward over the past 12 months, scoring the opening goal in last week’s match against Racing. Lewandowski has shared the role with the Spaniard and his off-the-bench usage on Saturday suggests he could be used on Tuesday night.