Cultural Leonesa vs Barcelona Predictions

Barcelona come into this Wednesday’s Copa del Rey trip to Cultural Leonesa on the back of an emphatic 5-1 clasico win. They have totally dominated this competition in recent years, winning it in each of the last four seasons. Their bid for a 5th straight crown begins here against Segunda B opposition.

The sides last met in 2009 with Barca winning 7-0 on aggregate, although they wouldn’t go on to win the competition that year. Cultural Leonesa also reached this stage two years ago so they have a fair bit of recent Copa del Rey experience but they were dealt a major blow last season when they suffered relegation from the Segunda Division. They currently sit 4th in their section of the Segunda B as they bid to bounce back and they’ve made good progress in this competition winning three ties already.

Clearly their run is likely to end at this point. They will take on a Barcelona side that will be full of confidence right now. Curiously enough the injury to Leo Messi may end up working to their advantage in the long run. Their dependence on the Argentine over the past year or so has been well documented but several players have stepped forward in big games over the past week to take on leadership roles and they may come out of this a much better all-round unit.

It will be a much weakened side that takes to the field here though. As well as the absence of Messi, Ernesto Valverde has given Ter Stegen, Pique, Rakitic, Busquets, Coutinho, Suarez and Alba an extra day off training and that strongly suggests that none of those players will play in Leon. Barca face trips to Rayo and Inter Milan in the space of four days immediately after this and will want their key men fresh for those games.

That gives Cultural Leonesa a glimmer of hope in the 1st Leg at least, as many of Barca’s fringe players have yet to really make much of an impression this term. The likes of Ousmane Dembele and Arturo Vidal have a chance to stake a claim for more regular football and should start here but it could take Barca a while to find their stride given all the changes.

It’s a big occasion for Cultural Leonesa who will be roared on by about 13.000 at a ground that has hosted Spain internationals in recent years. They will want to do better than at this stage two years ago when they suffered 7-1 and 6-1 defeats to Real Madrid, who did name pretty strong sides. It should be closer than that and there’s reason to fancy they can score.

Barcelona are already looking a little vulnerable at the back with Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen injured and with Gerard Pique likely to be rested, they could be vulnerable. Both teams have scored in 7 of Barcelona’s last 8 games and they take on a Cultural Leonesa side that has only failed to score twice this term. Backing Both Teams to Score could be worth a punt.

There could also be value in going for Cultural Leonesa +3 Handicap, given this will be a second-string Barca side largely consisting of new signings or players back from loans who haven’t played much together.