Barcelona’s Copa del Rey knockout record offers strong optimism ahead of Albacete clash

Barcelona are preparing to face Albacete this Tuesday in the quarter-final of the Copa del Rey, with cautious optimism surrounding the tie.

While Albacete are the only Segunda División side still standing in the competition, Barcelona are fully aware that cup football leaves no room for complacency.

This is because Albacete arrive at this stage of the tournament with momentum, having eliminated Real Madrid in a dramatic 3-2 victory.

That match marked the managerial debut of Alvaro Arbeloa and added extra weight to their qualification.

This is why the focus has been shifted to avoiding any slip-ups against lower-league opposition.

Quiet optimism

Barcelona have been warned internally about the dangers of underestimating Albacete. Still, there is one statistic that offers genuine encouragement ahead of the quarter-final.

Over the last ten editions of the Copa del Rey, Barcelona have progressed beyond the quarter-final stage on seven occasions.

More impressively, five of those campaigns ended with the club lifting the trophy.

This trend shows a recurring pattern that when Barça reach this point of the competition, they often go all the way.

A look at the history

Recent history strengthens that belief, as just last season, Barcelonafaced Valencia in the quarter-finals and produced a ruthless display, winning 5-0.

They followed that up by eliminating Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals before edging past Real Madrid in an unforgettable final.

A look at past campaigns further highlights Barcelona’s strong quarter-final record. They overcame Athletic Club in 2015-16 and went on to win the tournament.

Similar success followed against Real Sociedad in 2016-17 and Espanyol in 2017-18.

Even in seasons where they fell short of the trophy, such as 2018-19 against Sevilla, reaching the latter stages remained the norm.

There have been setbacks, notably eliminations against Athletic in 2019-20 and 2021-22, and again in 2023-24.

Yet the overall picture is that Barcelona tend to respond well when the Copa del Rey enters its decisive phase.

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