The draw for the quarter-finals of the 2020-21 Copa del Rey took place on Friday with Barcelona handed a tie away at La Liga rivals Granada. Diego Martinez’s side are just four places behind the Catalan giants in the Spanish top-flight.
Ronald Koeman’s side progressed to the last eight with a 2-1 win over Segunda Division side Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, while Granada hammered minnows Navalcarnero 6-0.
Here’s a look at the full quarter-final draw.
Granada vs Barcelona
Real Betis vs Athletic
Levante vs Villarreal
Almeria vs Sevilla
There are some other tasty ties involving La Liga clubs. Spanish Super Cup winners Athletic take on Real Betis, while Villarreal are at Levante. The lowest-ranked team left in the competition are Almeria who will host Sevilla.
The ties will be single-leg games and will take place between 2-4 February. Barca’s game is scheduled for February 3. Any games that are tied after 90 minutes will go to extra-time with penalties also available if required.
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Granada in Focus
Barcelona played Granada in La Liga at the start of January and enjoyed a comfortable win at Los Carmenes. Captain Lionel Messi and striker Antoine Griezmann both scored twice in a 4-0 win for the visitors.
Granada bounced back well from the defeat by beating Osasuna 2-0 in their next fixture but have failed to win in their following two La Liga games against Villarreal and the return fixture at Osasuna.
Thursday’s emphatic win over Navalcarnero will have boosted confidence and left manager Martinez proud of his players who are in the midst of a hectic run of fixtures, per the club’s official website.
I want to congratulate all my players. This is our fourth game in ten days away from home. It was a very complete game for the team, very focused, adapting to what the game needed and also with the necessary success to take the tie forward. What these players are doing can only be described as extraordinary. We are a team in capital letters. We continue in three competitions.
Granada now host Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday before taking on Barcelona. The Catalan giants will be favorites to progress and have been strong away from home following a run of eight straight matches away from the Camp Nou. Barca’s only defeat in that stretch of games came against Athletic after extra-time in the final of the Spanish Super Cup.
Yet Barca have struggled at Granada recently. The Catalan giants lost 2-0 in La Liga in September 2019 under previous manager Ernesto Valverde and will know that teams such as Sevilla, Valencia, Real Betis, and Athletic have all lost at Los Carmenes in La Liga this season.
Koeman Talks Copa Glory
Barcelona boss Koeman told reporters his team are keen to win the Copa del Rey after coming from behind to see off Rayo Vallecano in the last 16 thanks to goals from Messi and Frenkie de Jong, as reported by AS.
We want to win the Copa. I think this is the mentality our team has shown in all competitions and try to get the most out of it. It is important, we are Barça, but there are no easy games.
We know how the Copa games are, it doesn’t depend on the category of your opponent. You have to work a lot and play well. The pitch was not very good to play our game. Despite the state of the pitch, we played a very good game. Also, the team had the right mentality to overcome this play-off.
The Copa del Rey certainly seems to be Barca’s best chance of silverware this season seeing as they are already 10 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid in La Liga. Barca also face a tricky last-16 tie in the Champions League against French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
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Barcelona Handed Tricky Copa del Rey Quarter-Final Draw