Unionistas de Salamanca CF - Barcelona predictions and free betting tips [18/01/2024]

On Thursday, 18th of January, as part of Copa del Rey’s round of 16, Unionistas will clash with Barcelona. The Catalonians were utterly defeated by Madrid's Real Madrid, with a score of 4:1 in the recent Supercup final, while the hosts are the lowest-rated team that has made it to this stage of the competition.

Predicted Line-ups

Unionistas: Martinez; Camus, Mer, Gimenez, Jimenez; Nespral, Villar; Planas, Serrano, Gomez; Slavi.

Barcelona: Pena; Fort, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Lopez, Romeu, Pedri; Torres, Roke, Felix.

Stadium

The battle will take place in Salamanca at the Reina Sofia stadium.

Unionistas

Unionistas, who are part of the third-tier Spanish division (13th place), have already lost any chances of getting into Segunda, so they are making the most of their remaining chance in the Copa del Rey. Reaching the quarterfinals may seem an impossible task for such a humble team, but anything is possible in football. In previous rounds, the hosts beat Villarreal on penalties (1-1 after 120 minutes) and Sporting Gijon (2-0). Against the 'yellow submarine', Alfred Planas responded to a goal from Barcelona academy graduate Elias Ahomada, and underdog goalkeeper Ivan Martinez denied Alberto Moreno and Kiko Femenia's penalties. Pons' charges beat Rayo Majadahondu 2-1 last weekend - Hector Nespral and Ramiro Mayor found the net.

Moreover, the young club (founded in 2013) has suffered only one defeat in the last eight matches in all competitions, securing five wins and two draws. The aforementioned Alfred Planas, who scored against Villarreal, has yet to score in the domestic championship. The hosts' main attacking force remains Bulgarian striker Slavi (4 goals), aided by Ramiro Mayor (3 league goals) and Mario Losada (2) on Thursday. Unionistas' right-back Sergio Camus was substituted at half-time in the last round, but it seems like that was just a tactical substitution - he received a caution just 11 minutes into the match. Nespral's partner in midfield will be 20-year-old Javi Villar, on loan from Madrid's Real.

Barcelona

Barca lost the title of the Supercup holders, falling to Real Madrid in the final in Saudi Arabia (4:1). Vinicius scored a brace in the Clasico debut, but Robert Lewandowski quickly replied with a goal - however, Vinicius scored a third time in the second half, and Rodrigo definitively settled the question of the winner. The failure was already the Catalans' second defeat against the capital's grand team this season (1:2 loss in La Liga in the autumn). Now, Blaugrana have nothing more to do but redeem themselves in the Copa del Rey on Thursday evening, especially since the visitors are already trailing Ancelotti's leading team by seven points. In the previous round of the cup, Barca struggled to beat Barbastro, a team in the fourth-tier Spanish division (2:3). 

Barcelona is still without their main goalkeeper, Ter Stegen, who will return to the team by the end of February. Marcos Alonso (back surgery), Rafinha (recent injury), and Gavi (out for the season, cruciate ligaments) are also unavailable due to injuries; same goes for key fullback Joao Cancelo and central defender Inigo Martinez. Araujo and Kounde completely failed the match against Real, however, Xavi simply doesn’t have any alternatives for them in central defence. Robert Lewandowski (8 goals, 4 assists in La Liga) has scored in the last three matches, but the Pole might get a rest - in his realm, Vitor Roke may appear at the forefront of the attack. Note that Lamin Jamal is serving a two-match cup disqualification and will stay home.

Head to head 

Unsurprisingly, these clubs have never faced each other in history.

Match prediction: Unionistas - Barcelona

A defeat on Thursday would almost certainly mean the end of Xavi's tenure at Barcelona. Having defeated Villarreal and Sporting Gijon in previous rounds, the hosts will give their all when playing in front of their home crowd to create the biggest surprise of this Copa del Rey campaign. I'm going to risk predicting that Unionistas will not lose by a big margin - I'm betting on a 2.5 handicap for the underdogs. 

Total prediction

Barca is conceding goals left and right and is finding it hard to lift spirits after being crushed in the Supercup final. It makes sense to bet on 'both teams to score'.