Granada and Barcelona will both be aiming to book a spot in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey when the two sides lock horns at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Wednesday evening.
The hosts thrashed Navalcarnero 6-0 in the last 16 to set up a tie with Barca, who overcame Rayo Vallecano 2-1 in their most recent cup outing.
Match preview
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Even with a much-changed team, Granada barely needed to get out of second gear to teach Navalcarnero a footballing lesson, as six goals from six different scorers ensured that Diego Martinez's men are still in with a shout of silverware.
However, Granada were not able to follow that goal-laden performance up with a win against Celta Vigo, who managed to hold the Europa League contenders to a goalless stalemate at the weekend, meaning that Martinez's side are now winless in three La Liga matches.
The hosts' dip in form has come at the worst possible time with Atletico Madrid and two Europa League ties with Napoli lying in wait this month, and Granada are facing an uphill battle to match their 2019-20 Copa del Rey performance, where they were dumped out of the semi-finals by Athletic Bilbao.
However, Martinez's side are now welcoming Barcelona to a ground where they have suffered just one defeat in their last six across all competitions, although that loss was to Ronald Koeman's men, who will not go easy on their top-flight rivals in their bid for another Copa success.
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Lionel Messi's future will continue to dominate the headlines so long as he continues to ply his trade at Camp Nou, but the Argentine was in the news for the right reasons after notching up his 650th goal for the club against Athletic at the weekend.
It was the perfect response from a player who was given his marching orders against the same opponent in the Spanish Super Cup only a couple of weeks before, and Messi's sublime free kick sent Barca on their way to a 2-1 revenge win over the Super Cup champions on Sunday.
An own goal from Jordi Alba dampened the mood, but Antoine Griezmann fired home the winner 15 minutes from time as Koeman witnessed his side come up trumps for the fourth game in a row across all competitions.
The Catalan giants did not dominate Cornella or Rayo Vallecano by any means in the previous rounds, but a 31st Copa del Rey triumph - and their first since the 2017-18 campaign - is still on the cards, and Barca are undoubtedly the favourites with Atletico and Real Madrid both out already.
As mentioned, Barcelona eased to a 4-0 victory when the sides met last month, and eight of the last nine meetings between the two clubs have ended with the Catalans taking the spoils, with Messi - unsurprisingly - the top scorer in this fixture with 14 goals.
Granada Copa del Rey form: WWWW
Granada form (all competitions): WWDLWD
Barcelona Copa del Rey form: WW
Barcelona form (all competitions): WLWWWW
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Granada will welcome Yan Eteki back from suspension for this showdown, and the midfielder could slot straight back in after Yangel Herrera tested positive for coronavirus.
Neyder Lozano and Maxime Gonalons are both injured, and the hosts are otherwise in good shape heading into the quarter-final, but Martinez still has some big calls to make given the calibre of opponent.
Alberto Soro and Roberto Soldado will hope to earn starts after finding the back of the net against Navalcarnero, while second-choice goalkeeper Aaron Escandell could be given the nod once again.
Barcelona lynchpin Sergio Busquets is back from suspension for this tie and is expected to reprise his regular spot in the engine room - potentially in place of Frenkie de Jong.
Sergi Roberto is back after a lengthy layoff and could slot in at right-back over Oscar Mingueza - a centre-back by trade - and Sergino Dest has also been included in the squad after overcoming an injury.
Koeman will put out a strong team but is likely to make changes regardless, with Neto, Clement Lenglet, Riqui Puig and Martin Braithwaite all hopeful of earning starts, but there is no place for Junior Firpo in the squad.
Granada possible starting lineup:
Escandell; Diaz, Duarte, Perez, Neva; Eteki, Montoro; Soro, Vico, Machis; Soldado
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Neto; Roberto, Araujo, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, Pjanic; Trincao, Puig, Messi; Braithwaite
We say: Granada 1-3 Barcelona
A plethora of Barcelona changes could have Granada dreaming of a major upset this weekend, and the European-chasing hosts are not to be taken lightly. However, the quality in the depths of Koeman's ranks will shine through this week, and the in-form Blaugrana should move one step closer to silverware with a comfortable victory in this quarter-final.
Top betting tip
Ben Knapton
