Flick challenges Barcelona to prove why they are Copa del Rey favourites

Hansi Flick says he wants Barcelona to show why they are the favourites to win the Copa del Rey on the pitch when they face Guadalajara in the round of 32.

Barcelona begin their trophy defence on Tuesday against the side from the Primera Federacion, who they are meeting for the first time.

Flick’s side are on a five-match winning streak in all competitions, with their 2-0 victory at Osasuna on Saturday helping them stay four points clear at the top of LaLiga.

But now they turn their attention back to the Copa del Rey, which they have won a record 32 times.

On Tuesday, they are given an 85.1% win likelihood by the Opta supercomputer, with Guadalajara’s chances sitting at a lowly 7.7%, with a further 7.3% chance of taking the game past 90 minutes.

And though Barcelona are overwhelming favourites, both in this round and for the tournament overall, Flick is not taking anything for granted.

“We are favourites, that is clear, but I want to see it on the pitch,” Flick said. “We have to show our quality on the pitch.

“It is about how we approach it and how we start. That is the basis of the tie for me. We have to show we are favourites with a great attitude, because it will be difficult otherwise.

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“We have improved a lot in the last four weeks, and we want to continue that development. It is all a process. We are not at the end of the road; we are halfway through the season, and we still have a lot of potential to improve.

“We aim to win titles, and I think we have the quality to do it, but there is a long way to go. There is still a lot of work to do.”

Flick has promised to make changes, opting to rest number one Joan Garcia, who has made 14 appearances in all competitions this season.

However, the 60-year-old says he has not yet decided whether it will be Wojciech Szczesny or Marc-Andre ter Stegen starting between the sticks.

The German returned to fitness earlier this month but has not pushed his way back into the starting lineup, with Flick acknowledging last week that the goalkeeper could leave in January to boost his World Cup hopes.

But Flick says it is up to Ter Stegen to decide his future.

“Joan will rest,” Flick said. “But today is not the day to make the decisions [on who will play]. I want to wait.

“Of course, Marc is a fantastic goalkeeper. In the goal, we have three excellent players. I am really happy about this. We will see what happens.

“It’s his decision whether he stays. We’ve talked about his situation, and he’s a fantastic goalkeeper. I respect him. He’s a very good player, and a good person at that. But if he stays, it’s his decision.

“But it’s clear what I said before: Joan is number one. From there, we will see what happens.

“Tek [Szczesny] played a fantastic season [last term], we won three titles with him. Also, this season, when Joan was injured, he gave us stability.”