How to Watch Barcelona vs. Espanyol: Copa Catalunya

Barcelona will play a Catalan derby vs. Espanyol in the Copa Catalunya semifinals.

Roberto Casillas | 5 Minutes Ago

Barcelona will play Espanyol in the Copa Catalunya semifinals. / IMAGO/Visionhaus

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Whilst the FIFA international break usually means club action comes to a halt, that’s not the case for Barcelona, who will face Espanyol on Wednesday in the Copa Catalunya semifinals.

What is the Copa Catalunya? It’s an official tournament under the Catalan Soccer Federation (FCF) that sees teams from Catalunya that play in different divisions compete for regional glory since its inception in 1984. The tournament helps offer visibility and promote the sport and teams in the region.

But the draw of the tournament isn’t as big for a team like Barcelona, who enter the home-stretch of the season chasing Champions League, Copa Del Rey and La Liga glory that would see the team win a treble in Hansi Flick’s first season in charge.

The semifinals clash vs. Espanyol takes place whilst Barça are down 13 first-team players who are taking part in the March international break. Barcelona Athletic (Barça’s B team), and their Juvenil A and B (U-19 and U-17) sides, are also entering a challenging portion of their season.

All of these circumstances led Barcelona to try to get the semifinals match rescheduled, but the FCF didn’t oblige and the game will be played as originally planned.

The decision by the FCF left Barcelona having to scramble to put together a team for the match, especially after Flick gave the remaining first-team players on the squad a five day rest period following Tuesday’s training session.

Flick himself won’t manage the semifinals vs. Espanyol. Barça Athletic manager Sergi Milà will be on the touchline leading a mix of players from Barça’s B team, U-19 and U-17 sides. Espanyol are also expected to field an XI almost entirely made up of academy players.