Barcelona and lower league Villanovense want one-off cup decider

By Tim Hanlon

(Reuters) – The excitement is building among fans of Spanish third-tier side Villanovense ahead of the visit of Barcelona in the King’s Cup on Wednesday, but both sides would prefer the two-legged tie to be decided by a one-off match.

The Villanovense pitch has been re-laid, their stadium capacity has been temporarily increased to 10,000 and the walls have been given a lick of paint for the visit of Barca’s footballing aristocrats to the small town of Villanueva de la Serena in the west of Spain.

There is a festival atmosphere, but, with a place in the last 16 at stake, most fans realise the chance of an upset is extremely slim.

When the top flight sides enter the competition, teams play both home and away in a system that has been in place for 10 years.

“If it was difficult over one game then imagine it with a second it is going to be very tough,” Villanovense captain Angel Pajuelo told reporters.

“The football federation should look at England where you have a simple draw, you get who you get and then you have a single game. It would be a lot more fun and in a one-off game then you could get a lot of surprises.”

Barcelona have suffered their fair share of cup shocks such as their 2002 defeat to third-tier side Novelda in a one-off game.

Pajuelo said that Villanovense, whose budget is less than 350,000 euros ($386,295), are concentrating on the league and staying in Segunda B.

“It is what pays our way and this (Barcelona) match is just a prize,” he said.

“Still it gives you a buzz to think that you will be playing against Barcelona who won the treble and it doesn’t matter whether they play their first or second string.”

Barca coach Luis Enrique would also like to see a return to the old format, so as to put less of a strain on his players with the squad already stretched.

“To make the calendar less busy then it would have been fantastic just one game,” he told a news conference.

“Aside from that I would like to see all the cup games decided in one match.”

Barcelona forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez are among the first-team regulars who will be rested for the game, while Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Rafinha are injured.

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(Reporting by Tim Hanlon in Barcelona, editing by Toby Davis)