PREVIEW | UE Cornellà v FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona’s first Copa del Rey fixture of 2020/21 is a Round of 16 tie against UE Cornellà. Ronald Koeman will be looking for a reaction from his team to banish the memories of the Spanish Super Cup final defeat.

The two senior sides have never played against each other in official competition before, however, the team from Baix Llobregat regularly do battle with the various Barça youth teams.

The opponents

Coach: Guillermo Romo has no experience against Barça's senior team, though his sides have played six games against Barça B. Three wins, two draws and one defeat is his record against the blaugranes whilst coach of Olímpic, Sabadell, L'Ejea and Cornellà.

Top Scorers: Alexandre Pla and Adrián Jiménez both have a goal each in this season's Copa del Rey. Gila and Agus Medina, with two goals, are the top scorers in the squad from their Segunda División B fixtures.

How did they get here?: The green-and-whites qualified for the Round of 16 after eliminating Atlético Madrid (1-0). In the previous round they had beaten Marino by 0-1. Romo's side have also gone six league games without a win: three draws and three defeats, one of them against García Pimienta's Barça B (0-1).

President of the club, Álex Talavera, played in FC Barcelona's youth teams and was also a team-mate of Jordi Alba's whilst he was at the club. 

No precedent

This will be the first official match between Cornellà and FC Barcelona, and the team from Baix Llobregat will be the 86th different opponent that Barça have faced in the competition.

It's worth mentioning that this season, Barça B, U19A and U19B have all won their league matches at Cornellà.

Koeman's first Copa del Rey squad

Ronald Koeman will make his debut as FC Barcelona coach in the cup. The Dutchman has previously won the tournament as coach of Valencia (2007/08) and as a Barça player (1989/90).

He will announce his squad on the morning of the match.