Upcoming Opponents: CA Osasuna

Team Name: Club Atlético Osasuna

Recent form: W-D-W-W-D

One to watch: Ibrahima Balde

Competition: Copa del Rey

Fixture date: 4th January 2012

Stadium: Camp Nou

FC Barcelona will face CA Osasuna in the first leg of their round of 16 Copa del Rey tie. Barça go into the game with home advantage and full of confidence after their emphatic 9-0 victory against L'Hospitalet in an early round.

Guardiola's side could face a tough opposition though as Osasuna come into the game with a five game unbeaten streak. Their last defeat coming at the hands of Real Madrid back at the start of Novemeber.

Pep's men will have to keep a close eye on Osasuna's top goal scorer Ibrahima Balde. Balde has a sharp record this season of five goals in twelve games, making him the joint thirteenth top scorer in the league. But Balde has yet to make an appearance in the Copa del Rey and with the threat of the Catalan's dominance, manager José Luis Mendilibar may be forced into playing his star striker.

Osasuna progressed into the round of 16 after a scrappy and ill mannered affair with Almeria. Osasuna won the first leg 3-1 after Almeria were reduced to nine men then followed up with a 1-1 draw to progress through. Barça did not have such trouble and eased through after outclassing third division side CE L'Hospitalet.

Guardiola can also take confidence that it was his younger players that produced such an excellent display. This demonstrated by Thiago, Cuenca and Tello each bagging a brace. With their first league game of 2012 coming four days after the cup tie, Guardiola may keep faith and field a young side to give his senior squad more time to prepare for Sunday's challenge of Espanyol.

This is a game that Barcelona should win but Guardila will have to be wary of the side that sits fifth in the table when it comes to selecting his side.

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Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the introduction to my new blog, A Barça Blog. My name is Sam Cooper and I am currently 16 years of age. I have started this blog as I am aiming to become a football journalist and see this as a great way to get started. For many years I have been a huge admirer of FC Barcelona, from the way they have created a new style of football to their impressive off-the-field conduct. My blog will cover all of the big stories coming from Barça in the last week. I will be giving my views and thoughts but will also be asking for your feedback! So please if you have any thoughts or comments, feel free to email me at samcooper07@gmail.com. Hope you enjoy, Sam Cooper

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