Barcelona and Espanyol will play this Wednesday at the RCDE Stadium for the first leg of the 2017-18 Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
The match, in which Javier Mascherano and Andrés Iniesta will be out due to injuries, has left a surprise: the unusual position in which Aleix Vidal will play.
In addition to the inclusion of the Spanish footballer, Ernesto Valverde has decided to rest Luis Suárez, play with Denis and also bet on Carles Aleñá. Although it is only the first leg of the Copa del Rey, the Blaugrana lineup has surprised several fans due to the system they will start the match with.
FC Barcelona lineup vs. Espanyol:
Cillessen; Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Vermaelen, Digne; Busquets, Aleñá, Denis Suárez, Paulinho; Aleix Vidal and Messi.
To continue the winning streak
The history of derbies in the Copa del Rey is clearly in favor of FC Barcelona, as in the previous eighteen matches, Espanyol has only defeated them five times, the last time being in the 1960-61 edition, where a double victory by Espanyol (3-2 and 1-0) allowed them to advance to the quarterfinals.
Since then, in the following nine matchups, Barcelona has always advanced to the next round, only suffering one defeat and two draws in eighteen games. In the last clash, two seasons ago, Barcelona eliminated their rival again in the round of 16 of the 2015-16 edition with a double victory (4-1 and 2-0).
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