FC Barcelona looks to continue their near perfect season as they take on Cordoba in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey Round of 16 match.
Barcelona dispatched Cordoba easily in the first leg from a boost from two Lionel Messi goals. With the team playing on its home turf at the Camp Nou, a blowout win should be inevitable.
Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova will not be on hand as he continues to struggle with his health.
David Villa should get a start and have the potential to put the ball in the net. Villa has had an up and down season and has struggled mightily at times to get in form. Part of the reason for that is his lack of starts and inconsistent playtime. The other player that Barcelona hopes to get a big game from is Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez has scored just one goal the entire season and has not looked the like the star player Barcelona has been hoping for. Don't expect Barcelona to throw out all of their start players for this tilt as they have a big match this weekend with fourth-place Malaga. Malaga defeated Real Madrid a few weeks ago and has had a solid run in the Champions League.
Barcelona's opponents are second division Cordoba, a team that is currently struggling in the division with just 27 points in 20 games. They are in 12th place in the league and will likely not see any promotion this season. They did manage to defeat first division Real Sociedad in Round of 32 by an aggregate score of 4-2.
Prediction: Do not expect much from Cordoba. Barcelona is far superior and with Messi in the lineup at the Camp Nou, they should defeat Cordoba handily. It will be interesting to see how many goals Messi scores as he is down 5-1 to rival Cristiano Ronaldo for goals scored in 2013. I think Messi scores three and Barcelona romps to a 5-0 win.
Start Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
TV Info: beIN Sport
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