Unionists want to make matters worse against Barça
The people from Salamanca want to continue making history against a downtrodden Barça
BARCELONA, 17 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
This Thursday, the Reina Sofía in Salamanca hosts the duel between Unionistas CF and FC Barcelona (7:30 p.m.) in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, a historic match for the people of Salamanca who, after the feat of eliminating Villarreal, seek to repeat against Barça who arrives downcast due to the setback of the Spanish Super Cup and the doubts in the previous round against Barbastro.
The Copa del Rey is the scene of feats like the one Unionistas achieved against Villarreal, whom they eliminated in the penalty shootout in a duel that had to be played in two days, something that made it even more epic. Now, against a Barça that is the club with the most Cups under its belt, the locals want Reina Sofía to experience another even bigger party.
With a full house and more than 6,000 fans who will cheer on Uninonistas, the people of Salamanca will try to make the faith they have, the one they already experienced against Villarreal, claim another victim. This time even more prestigious. And, in the preview, their coach, Dani Ponz, made it clear that they will not be intimidated by the weight and prestige of the rival.
“In the end we cannot be intimidated, it is impossible to hold down a team like Barça but we cannot fall into disbelief. We are going to continue playing the same way, always looking forward,” he said in a previous press conference.
The cup victory against Villarreal gave encouragement to a team that in the First RFEF comes from beating Rayo Majadahonda (2-1) and that beat Barça Atlètic (0-2) at the Johan Cruyff. And just as they beat the Blaugrana reserve team, they now want to knock down the first team knowing that, in a 90-minute match, anything can happen.
It will be the first duel between Unionistas and Barça in official competition, but the first team of FC Barcelona was in Salamanca 13 times before, and against the defunct UD Salamanca they won, at the Helmántico, 3 games with 2 draws and 8 defeats. So it is a bad historical fiefdom for the Blaugranas.
Although Barça is a clear favorite, by category and by history, they face this duel with doubts. Those caused by the tough 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, by the 2-3 with which they beat Barbastro in the last round of this Cup and, above all, by a bad game that creates doubts among part of the fans.
Not so in Xavi Hernández who continues to believe that things are going more good than bad. He is rooted in the idea that the project continues to advance and, despite recognizing that they did things very badly in the last Clásico, he trusts in being able to win a title, like this Copa del Rey, to gain another year of growth on the bench. blaugrana.
A good part of their chances of gaining peace of mind involve not succumbing in the Cup against such a low-class rival. And he goes to Salamanca with eight casualties that reduce his options to rotate. In addition to the six injuries that the Blaugrana first team currently has, two have been added due to suspension ahead of these round of 16.
Lamine Yamal, still carrying a suspension from his youth stage, and Ronald Araujo, after his expulsion in the Super Cup final, are off the list as are the injured Marc-André Ter Stegen, João Cancelo, Raphinha, Iñigo Martínez, Marcos Alonso and Gavi, the latter being the “soul of the team” in Xavi's eyes, as he stated in a press conference prior to this vital duel for the Blaugranas.
DATASHEET.
–POSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
UNIONISTS CF: Marquis; Camus, Mayor, Giménez, Jiménez; Gómez, Nespral, Villar, Serrano; Slavy and Losada.
FC BARCELONA: Iñaki Peña; Strong, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Oriol Romeu, Gündogan, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Roque and Marc Guiu.
–REFEREE: Hernández Maeso (C. Extremeño).
–STADIUM: Reina Sofía Municipal Stadium.