FCB will put out a fairly strong team with just Pinto and Bojan in for Valdes and Villa for cup matches.
That shouldn't affect their chances of another big win. Indeed Pinto and Boyan are the two players who have played most minutes in this competition for Pep Guardiola with Pinto the penalty stopping hero in the semis last time they won the cup and Boyan, who has just sgined a new contract till 2015, has 8 goals in the Cup.Athletic Club Bilbao, who have won the Cup 23 times in comparison to the Catalan club's 25 times, would have out out their strongest team, but they are without starting centre-half Amorebieta and international forward Fernando Llorente. Their manager, Joaquin Caparros, has set a target of taking a small deficit back up North for the return leg in the first week of January.
Difficult to see FCB not getting through this round in the current run of excellent play and results. Even the huffing and puffing of Espanyol's 40,000 budgies didn't put them off as they recorded an easy 5-1 win at Cornella-El Prat. Indeed it is difficult to imagine Barça being seriously challenged in any domestic competition over the next 2 years.
Elsewhere in the last 16 of the cup the two most attractive ties are the Valencian derby between Valencia and Villareal (currently 3rd and 4th in the league) and Atletico Madrid v Espanyol. Espanyol won 3-2 at the Vicente Calderon a couple of weeks ago in a match where the Atletico manager, Quique Flores went on to the pitch after the final whistle shouting "I'll see you outside" to Espanyol's Luis Garcia. Tut tut tut. Real Madrid will beat Levante 0,5-0 over two legs in what should be the least inspiring tie of the round.
Prediction:
FCB 3-1 Atheltic
p.s. Photo shows kit and balls to be used in return leg in Bilbao.
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