Sevilla vs. Barcelona: With the trident for Copa del Rey semi-final first leg

Ronald Koeman goes into Wednesday's Copa del Rey semifinal first leg against Sevilla with little to no room to maneuver. With eight players missing through injury -- Sergiño Dest, Martin Braithwaite, Miralem Pjanic, Ansu Fati, Gerard Piqué, Ronald Araujo, Philippe Coutinho and Sergi Roberto -- the Barcelona coach doesn't have much choice when it comes to picking his starting XI at the Sanchez Pizjuan. However, the players consider it a huge game, with cup now one of the main objectives this season, so Koeman will go strong in Seville.

Save a surprise, Marc ter Stegen will play in goal. Koeman brought him in against Granada in the quarterfinal having previously played Neto there. In defender, there aren't many doubts due to injuries: Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet are the only available centre-backs, Oscar Mingueza will play at right-back and Jordi Alba will continue at left-back ahead of Junior Firpo. In the middle, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri is the favoured trio at the moment, with the attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele all set to start.

Messi will be supported by the two French players, who are both going through a good patch of form. Even though there is still room for improvement, Griezmann's started to make a difference in the box and Dembele adds something different from out wide. Francisco Trincao, who was so vital at Real Betis on Sunday, will be an option in the second half.

Academy

La Masia will have an important role to play in Seville. In theory, only four players from Barça's academy will start the game -- Mingueza, Jordi Alba, Busquets and Messi -- but another five will be on the bench: Iñaki Peña, Riqui Puig, Konrad, Ilaix Moriba and Alex Collado.

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