Barcelona’s possible opponents in the Copa del Rey round of 16

Barcelona pulled their leg away from the grasping hand of Barbastro as they squeezed through the tight gap that they made into the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. Once again, the blaugrana failed to convince but got away with it, with manager Xavi insisting that, despite only winning 2-3 against a third division side, with two goals scored by youth team players, his feelings were indeed “good”.

Now the Round of 16 draw (Monday 8 January 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT.) awaits Barcelona, and a string of teams that propose challenges tougher than Barbastro by several orders of magnitude. The league looks out of sight and the Champions League objective was to get out of the group stage, meaning that the two remaining cup comPetitions, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup - which Xavi called “spectacular comPetitions” - are Barça’s last remaining hopes for the season.

Here’s who Barcelona could face in the Copa del Rey Round of 16:

As you can see, Barcelona’s position in the division means they can face any of the other 15 teams still in the tournament. Atlético Madrid, Girona and Real Sociedad would present the toughest tests, along with a very impressive Athletic Club side. Not to mention we could indeed have a Clásico in the next round...

Like in Real Madrid’s draw, if Barcelona are drawn against Tenerife or Unionistas, they would play the tie away; if they are paired with another Primera División team, the match will be played at the home of the team that is drawn first.