Guadalajara vs Barcelona, Copa del Rey: Team News, Preview, Lineups, Score Prediction

CD Guadalajara vs FC Barcelona

Competitors/Spherical: 2025-26 Copa del Rey, Spherical of 32

Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Ronald Araujo, Gavi, Dani olmo (out)

Guadalajara Outs & Doubts: None

Date/Time: Tuesday, December 16, 2025, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Wednesday)

Venue: Pedro Escartín Stadium, Guadalajara, Spain

Referee: César Soto Grado

The best way to watch on TV: Not Obtainable (USA), Premier Sports activities 1 (UK), Startimes (Nigeria), Movistar (Spain), others

The best way to watch on-line: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports activities Participant (UK), FanCode (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others

Following a snug residence win towards Osasuna to take care of their benefit on the high of the La Liga desk, Barcelona journey to the Castilla-La Mancha area simply exterior of Madrid for his or her debut on this season’s Copa del Rey as they play a one-off Spherical of 32 tie towards Third Division Guadalajara on Tuesday Evening Fútbol.

Barça come into this one prepared to start their protection of the Spanish Cup title, which they received in memorable trend towards Actual Madrid final season. The Blaugrana have received extra Copa titles than anybody, and Hansi Flick made it clear in his pre-match press convention that the aim is so as to add yet another Cup trophy to their cupboard.

The Catalans would be the apparent favorites on Tuesday, however early rounds of the Cup are by no means as simple as they appear on paper. Guadalajara gamers celebrated getting the tie with Barça as in the event that they’d received a trophy, the town might be prepared for a historic evening, and the staff will give the whole lot to drag off a large killing towards the reigning champs.

Guadalajara’s kind doesn’t precisely bode effectively for his or her probabilities, with only one win of their final 12 within the league that’s put them squarely in the course of a relegation combat. They’ve arrived at this stage of the Cup with two wins towards groups just about at their stage, they usually’re but to face a staff wherever close to pretty much as good as Barça. However that also doesn’t imply issues might be straightforward for Hansi Flick and his troops.

Third tier groups in Spain play a really particular fashion, with a ton of physicality and transition play that’s aided by pitches which might be as small as potential and never precisely in the perfect situation, to place it mildly. Groups that like to play and go the ball can battle to adapt to the distinctive circumstances of this division, so we’d see Barça get off to a gradual begin as they arrive to grips with a a lot completely different surroundings.

The Blaugrana might be anticipated to point out their high quality and discover a method to get by way of this comfortably ultimately, however they need to be prepared for an actual battle towards a staff that may play free and with completely nothing to lose.

Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Eric, Cubarsí, Christensen, Jofre; Casadó, De Jong; Roony, Fermín, Dro; Ferran

Guadalajara (4-2-3-3): Vicente; Might, Rodriguez, Ablanque, Casado; Rojo, calvo; Diaz, Ramirez, Muñoz; Cañizo

Spanish Third Division groups are particularly bodily, and the small (and doubtless unhealthy) pitch will swimsuit Guadalajara’s fashion much more than Barça’s. However I nonetheless anticipate Flick’s troops to ultimately set up their superior high quality and advance to the subsequent spherical: 3-0 to the guests.