Barca facing Elimination from Copa Del Ray

Tuesday 12 January 2010 ·

Sevilla, holding on to a 2-1 lead from the first leg in Catalonia, host a Barcelona side Pep Guardiola will pack full of his first team stars after selecting a side bereft of regular first-teamers Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Thierry Henry, Victor Valdes and Gerard Pique, who all started on the bench.  His team will be full of confidence after thrashing Tenerife 5-0 on Sunday although the Barca coach was quick to voice his concerns about his dominant side: "until we scored the first it was very even and the only difference was Tenerife failed to score. They had three clear chances and we were in trouble but after the first went in the game was different" he said in the post-match press conference.

It is clear Guardiola is worried despite his next statement, "I ignore those who say we are not the same as in 2009. The situation does not change much in a few days. I sense that things are going well and I'm thinking about the important match against Sevilla on Wednesday" suggesting that he will make sure his players do not take the Sevilla match lightly.
There have been reports in some of the press suggesting this Barcelona side is not the same as the all-conquering record-breakers of 2009 but, as Guardiola himself has pointed out, to repeat such a momentous feat is almost impossible.  Should Barca fail to overcome Sevilla in the second-leg on Wednesday, would this mean that the side is failing?  This side has shown it is resilient and able to adapt to the many sides who seek to nullify the threat of Barcelona this season, so it is really no surprise that they are not "as good" as last season as this suggests that other teams are attempting to work out a way to stop them.  Football wouldn't be football without this.
The likelihood is that Guardiola's side will overcome Sevilla, but the uncertainty will certainly make for an intersting match.

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