Barcelona continue a busy start to the new year as they begin their Copa del Rey title defense with a Round of 32 match away to Third Division side Linares Deportivo in the Andalusian region.
Spanish Cup matches are now single-elimination ties all the way through the semi-finals, so it is win or go home for Xavi’s men on Wednesday. Barça started 2022 with a gutsy win away to Mallorca, and there is no time to rest for a Blaugrana squad still depleted due to injuries and Covid-19.
There is still a lot of uncertainty about the status of most of the squad ahead of this one, with seveal players who are positive for Covid as of this writing still hoping to test negative on Tuesday to make the squad, so figuring out the starting XI is quite the challenge.