Barcelona to recover key player for Copa del Rey showdown against Valencia – Football España

Barcelona have already won the Spanish Super Cup this season, and they will have their eyes on further success in the Copa del Rey, for which they are one of the favourites alongside Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. They will hope to progress to the final four of the competition when they take on Valencia in their quarter-final tie on Thursday.

It has been a near-flawless start to 2025 for the Catalans, who have won seven of their first nine matches (D2) to start the calendar year. They will hope to carry on that run at the Mestalla, and they will be buoyed by having beaten Valencia 7-1 only nine days ago.

However, it should be a much more competitive occasion at the home of Los Che. Hansi Flick will be keen to carry on the cup run, although he could opt to make some changes ahead of the weekend’s trip to Sevilla in their next La Liga fixture. If that happens, there could be chances for Dani Olmo to start.

Olmo has been out with a muscular injury over the last two weeks, but according to Sport, he should be given the medical green light before Barcelona travel to Valencia on Thursday. He was involved in training on Tuesday, and barring any last-minute setbacks, he should be fine to make an imminent return to action.

Alongside Pau Victor, Olmo is currently registered on a temporary basis after Barcelona received a precautionary measure from the Higher Sports Council (CSD). Given that La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation are fighting hard to have this revoked, the club will be keen to have the midfielder available as much as possible, given that they could lose him for the remainder of the season if the case is lost. For now, he should be back in contention later this week.