Prematch: Cultural Leonesa - Barcelona (Copa del Rey)

Tonight is the return of La Copa del Rey. Cultural Leonesa plays in Spanish 2a División B, that is the 3rd division of Spanish Leagues. This should be an easy match, but, beware, as Real Madrid suffered yesterday a humiliating defeat (4 -0 to Alcorcon) against a rival of a similar level.

The most probable lineup, as newspaper are reporting is: Pinto; Abidal, Márquez, Chygrynskiy, Maxwell; Sergio Busquets, Touré Yaya, Keita; Jeffrén, Bojan y Pedro

If you're planning on watching the match tonigh, remember neither Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Lionel Messi will be playing. Finally they are getting some rest. Five Barça's youth team are going to León and will start the match on the bench.

Fontàs, Benítez, Jonathan Soriano, Jonathan Dos Santos y Gai Assulin
 are the five Barça's youth team players going to León

Who is Cultural Leonesa?

First of all, Cultural Leonesa is the team of the President of Spain, Rodríguez Zapatero. Wel, it's one of both teams, being the other one... Barça. He even is a 'socio' and has a seat. Anyway, he's said not to be attending today.

As we've already said Cultural plays on Spanish 3rd Division and is not doing very well (they are in the last places of their league) Their main player is Jito, an exbarcelonist that has scored 9 goals in 10 league matches with Cultural this season.

Fifty years ago (1956) Barcelona played against Cultural Leonesa in Cultural's one and only First Division year. Nowadays they struggle to survive not just sportwise but economically.

Remember, the match is the first of two matches against Cultural and is played tonight at 10 pm Spanish hour.

We never throw away a match, even less a whole tournament

- Guardiola, asked about the absence of his top players

To score a goal would be incredible

- Jito, Cultural's best and only scorer




Related links:
- Copa del Rey preview (goal.com)
- Barcelona will treat the Copa del Rey seriously (goal.com)