Having bagged their first trophy of the season over the weekend, Barcelona continue their defence of the Copa del Rey title with a trip to Cantabria to face second-division side Racing Santander on Thursday in the round of 16.
It is almost becoming routine for Hansi Flick’s side, who once again defeated arch-rivals Real Madrid to clinch the Supercopa de Espana trophy in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. This means Barca have now won each of the last three finals contested between the sides, including last season’s Spanish Cup.
That weekend triumph also extended Barcelona’s winning run to 10 straight victories across all competitions, a sequence which includes a success over Guadalajara in the previous round of the Copa del Rey.
The Blaugrana enter Thursday’s encounter looking to pick up where they left off in the competition as they attempt to move one step closer to lifting the trophy for a record-extending 33rd time.
By contrast, Racing are far behind in pedigree in this competition. The Cantabrian side have never won the Copa del Rey and are appearing in the round of 16 for the first time since their quarter-final run in 2013-14.
The Green and Whites defeated Logrones, Ponferradina and La Liga side Villarreal to reach this stage and will fancy their chances of progressing in what is undoubtedly their biggest test so far. However, they approach this fixture under a less positive backdrop after seeing their nine-game unbeaten run (W5, D4) ended by a home league defeat to Real Zaragoza over the weekend.
How the bookies view it: Almost no chance for an upset
Unsurprisingly, Barcelona are heavy favourites for this clash and are priced at 2/7 on Ladbrokes, which implies a 77.8% chance of winning in regulation time. Racing are available at 7/1, equating to just a 12.5% probability of victory before extra time, while the draw is priced at 11/2.
Head-to-head: Barcelona dominance
This will be the first meeting between the sides since 2012, and Barcelona have won each of the last seven encounters. All of those victories came by multi-goal margins, with the most recent six also producing clean sheets.
Player to watch: Marcus Rashford backed to end drought
Marcus Rashford found the net for Barcelona in the previous round but has since drawn a blank in each of his last four appearances, although he started only once during that spell. With Flick likely to rest several starters from Sunday’s final, the England international could be handed a rare start, and we are backing him to make his mark.
Probable lineups
Racing will remain without Juan Arana, Clement Michelin, Sergio Martínez and Asier Villalibre due to injury. Barcelona, meanwhile, are still without Andreas Christensen and Gavi as they continue their recovery.
Racing (4-3-1-2): Ezkieta; Mantilla, Ramon, Gonzalez, Salinas; Gueye, Puerta; Martin, Canales, Vicente; Lozano
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Casado, Araujo, Garcia, Torrents; Bernal, De Jong; Bardghji, Olmo, Fermín; Rashford
Anything else that catches the eye?
Six of Barcelona’s last 10 victories have produced over 2.5 goals, making the 11/20 on Ladbrokes appealing.
Racing have both scored and conceded in each of their last seven matches, a trend that looks attractive at 13/20 with Ladbrokes.
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