In the Copa del Rey there are no favourites, unless Barça plays, Of the 25 titles he has won, eight have been in one fell swoop intends to increase now and from Friday in Antequera, the town where Antonio Carlos Ortega began his career as a coach, and where the current Barça coach spent six years with success. Therefore, the bets are not limited to pointing out the champion, rather the one who will give the reply on Sunday at the Fernando Argüelles (7:00 p.m., Teledeporte) that is expected to be full to overflowing. The current runner-up, Ademar, could be Barça’s rival in the semi-finals, while Anaitasuna, with whom they played the 2016 final, are lucky enough to face Barça in the first tie.
Yes, lucky that the team from Navarra plays against Barça in the semifinals, because in a game anything can happen when the two squads arrive fresh, because once the team from Ortega has been shot they always arrive fuller due to the rotations. Quique Domínguez, the coach of Anaitasuna, said it, that the veterans of his team consider that it is better to “measure Barça from the start”. And furthermore, because even Barça this season is the most down to earth in recent years: ! In three of the last five league games they have not exceeded four goals in margin!
The Copa del Rey will be seen on Teledeporte: two quarterfinal matches, the two semifinals and the final, although the order of the clashes on Saturday is not finalized because it will be Television that decides: the logical thing would be for Barça (if it passes) to play the last semifinal clash, but there is another logic, that of coming out in the first round on Saturday because it is less likely that there will be an extension and the schedule would be met for the second semifinal.
Bidasoa-Granollers
The final phase of the Copa del Rey opens (12:30, Teledeporte) and it is the stellar clash of the first day because it faces the second and third in the League. It could be ventured that the winner of the match It will be the one that will reply to Barça for the title, but in recent years the other favorite has always run aground on the way to the final. Both have lifted the Copa del Rey, the Catalans three times and the Basques twice.
In Bidasoa’s ranks Azkue is out again, Odriozola is in doubt (he was injured with the National Team) and Salinas is recovering, so if he plays he will face his brother, in the Vallesan ranks. Furthermore, Bidasoa have an eye on the Europa League, as they face Danish GOG in the round of 16 on Tuesday. As far as Granollers is concerned, at the height of planning for the next season.
Cangas-Ademar
A month ago this match would have the Galicians as favourites, but Ademar has improved so much that it is among the outstanding teams in March. The clash (15:00) is raised to the face of a dog with a Cangas who has lowered his level, but that for the first time in its history it appears with two Spanish internationals in its ranks: David Iglesias and Daniel Fernández, although it is possible that it will lose both for the next campaign.
In the Ademar, with the losses of Jozinovic and Milosaljevic, Manolo Cadenas brings back Cape Verdean Semedo, the team’s foreign star, and Malasinskas, the newly signed Lithuanian, a high-level central defender, will possibly make his debut.
Antequera-Puente Genil
The Andalusian derby ensures that one of the two teams that live 60 kilometers apart will be in the semifinals. It was the choice of Antequera, as organizer, and the match is presented with visiting overtones due to the poor performance of the Malaga team (17:15, Teledeporte).
For Antequera, reaching the semifinals would be a success in a season in which everything indicates that they will lose the category in May; for Puente Genil, it is a double-edged sword, because they are marked to win, which puts pressure on them, but if they win, they would surely be one game away from playing the final against Barça.
From the two squads (Cuenca and Chispi) it is ensured that this meeting will be “an Andalusian handball party”, and although Puente Genil might initially seem like a task to face the host, it also seems the most accessible rival
Barça-Anaitasuna
“He is the rival that nobody wanted and that everyone tried to avoid until the final”, Quique Domínguez said, although the Anaitasuna coach opened a door to hope before the clash with Barça (19:45): “Anything can happen in a game, and there is always a small chance against everyone”.
The Navarrese are clinging to the fact that they have been preparing for the match for two weeks, focusing all their efforts on this clash, while Barça have only had three days to prepare, having had eleven players in their respective teams.