Real Madrid stumbled in their first leg encounter of the Copa del Rey 2016-17 on Wednesday. Will the same fate await Barcelona on Thursday? That remains to be seen as Lionel Messi and Co. go into their first leg Copa del Rey match against Real Sociedad at the Estadio Anoeta.
Defender Rafinha will be missing the match for Barcelona owing to a hamstring injury. Apart from him, the trio of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Aleix Vidal and Jeremy Mathieu are also not a part of the travelling squad.
Good news is that MSN (Messi Suarez Neymar) is available for the game, so is Gerard Pique.
Barca are currently third in La Liga with 38 points from 18 games and are also coming into the game at the back of a five-match undefeated streak in the Spanish league. Sociedad, fifth in the table, are also coming to the game at the back of a win in the La Liga.
Will that winning luck translate to good results on the field this evening? This remains to be seen.
Expected starting XI
Barcelona: Cillessen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Digne; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
Real Sociedad: Rulli; Litri, Elustondo, Inigo, Yuri; Zurutuza, Illarramendi; Mikel, Prieto, Juanmi; Willian.
Schedule
Date: January 19
Time: 1:45 am IST (Friday) [8:15 pm GMT, 3:15 pm EST]
Where to watch live
India: No telecast
UK: No telecast
USA: TV - beIN Sports, fubo TV. Live streaming - beIN Sports Connect, go90
Spain: Gol TV.
Live score: Twitter
