Wenesday’s Copa del Rey match away at L’Hospitalet, Victor Valdes’ hometown, could be an game for youngsters Rafinha, Deofoleu and Sergi Roberto to shine. With the absences of Alexis, Messi, Alves, Mascherano, Cuenca and Thiago due to international duty, Guardiola will be looking to give minutes to La Masia’s newest jewels. Pedro and Afellay remained injured and are unavailable for the first leg of the Copa del Rey’s round of 16.

Despite Guardiola’s desire to use some of Barça ’s youngsters, players like Abidal and Pique will be starters. Seeing that the backline
does not have much cover, Fontas and Dos Santos could start as center back and right back respectively.

In the midfield, Busquets and Sergi Roberto could start alongside either Xavi, Keita, Iniesta or Fabregas. There is no reason for Guardiola to force all of his starting midfielders into the match, seeing the amount of difficult fixtures coming before the New Year.

Like in most games, Guardiola will instruct his players to keep the ball, open the field and be patient while L’Hospitalet waits in a defensive block for the counter attack. Sergi Roberto, who has been a key member of Eusubio’s Barça B squad this term, is a skilled midfielder who can hold the ball and pass it at the level of any midfielder in La Liga. His touch is exquisite and recently, he has been playing in more advanced positions, hence his jersey being number 10.

The attacking line for Wednesday’s match will most likely consist of Villa and one if not two Barça B players. Deofoleu, who is deemed to be the next Messi, can start on the left wing while Villa plays through the center and Rafinha, Thiago’s little brother, on the right. However, do not discard the option of Guardiola starting with Fabregas as “false 9” and Villa alongside either Deofoleu or Rafinha on the flanks.

Ultimately, in the future we could be looking back at this game as the day that Rafinha debuted in Barça . The young striker has a brilliant future ahead of him and even his brother says that he is the best player in the Alcantara family. In the coming years, the Barça world will see if this is true.

Predicted score: L’Hospitalet 0-1 Barcelona

Predicted line-up: Pinto; Dos Santos, Pique, Fontas, Abidal; Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Keita; Fabregas, Villa, Rafinha.

Article written by Barcaloco contributor Keenan Manresa. Follow Keenan on Twitter at @knnza.