Three talking points ahead of UD Barbastro vs Barcelona | Copa del Rey | OneFootball

Barcelona’s next four games, as scheduled at the moment, span across four different competitions and it is clear that the calendar is now heating up.

To kick off the new year, they face a daunting challenge in the Copa del Rey that may be easy on paper but is anything but that in practicality.

Later tonight, they take on UD Barbastro in the Round of 32 of the cup competition who are ironically the same team they faced in the event last season.

Barbastro are currently 16th in the RFEF Segunda Division and only recently recovered from a horrific run of five straight losses in the league.

Needless to say, the game against Barcelona is the highlight of their calendar and they will come out all guns blazing to pull off an upset.

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

New year, new start

If there was one team in Europe that needed the hiatus from football the most to recoup and return, it was Barcelona.

The Catalans, after all, were on a downward spiral over the last weeks of 2024 and went from one low to another from a results perspective.

Their performances against Leganes and Atletico Madrid were not poor in any measure, but they simply had run out of fortune and lost both games devastatingly.

The end of 2024, thus, was forgettable for Hansi Flick’s side and the Christmas break was a much-needed breathing space for the dressing room.

Now rested, fit and raring for the campaign ahead, the Catalans will look to come out all guns blazing when they take to the field for the first time in 2025.

Having fallen behind in La Liga, it is going to take a massive run of momentum for Barcelona to regain the lead and a lot depends on how they can keep churning out results now.

The Copa del Rey clash tonight, thus, is the start of a new year and the team will look to make sure they get off on the right foot.

Debuts incoming

Set to start tonight. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

While the manager must indeed exercise caution in his approach to the game, there will undoubtedly be rotations as there have always been in the early stages of the Copa del Rey. Interestingly, some of them will be debuts.

For starters, the first change expected on the night is for Wojciech Szczesny to replace Inaki Pena in the starting lineup.

The Polish goalkeeper has not played an official game for Barcelona since arriving as a replacement for Marc-Andre ter Stegen and will look to make his mark tomorrow, especially with Pena slowly losing the management’s trust.

The second big season debut incoming is that of Ronald Araujo who has not featured for the club in any capacity so far this campaign.

Having completely recovered from an injury he suffered in the Copa America, the Uruguayan will be eager to prove his worth to the new manager and provide rest to either Pau Cubarsi or Inigo Martinez.

Apart from the two big debuts, one can expect regular substitutes like Fermin Lopez and Ansu Fati to merit starts in the midfield and final third and the likes of Gerard Martin to play in defence.

The Copa del Rey paradox

If there is one thing the Copa del Rey is famous for, it is the early upsets it provides year after year in what has now become a tradition.

Ever since the competition changed its format to a one-game knockout format with the lower-ranked club having the home advantage, the first-division teams cannot take the event for granted.

Stepping into the fiery atmosphere of a lower-ranked team’s stadium and playing 90 minutes against a team that has nothing to lose is easier said than done. Barcelona know the same better than anyone else.

It was only last year in the same event that the Blaugrana took on UD Barbastro in the Spanish Cup but the game was far from easy. It was a narrow 3-2 win for them at the end and the opponents had great chances to even pull off an upset,

As they head into the game against Barbastro, it is critical that Hansi Flick maintains rationality and does not underestimate the opposition. One wrong step and the event could be over for his side.