SPORTING GIJON - RAYO VALLECANO

Sporting Gijon is a team from 2nd division. They struggled to qualify against an amateur team (did it in penalties) and then in the next round beat a team from the third category easily, but were pretty lucky because they scored two fast goals at 7’ and 9’.

They are a mid table team in the league, below the expectations and with lack of goal. The team is under pressure because they changed the owners this season and spent money trying to at least reach the playoffs, and they are now 13th on the table.

Coach has been using a mixed squad in this competition, and for today are expected many changes. They are 100% focused in the league, and have an important match on Friday against Levante (3rd), just 3 days before this one. With just two days to rest and focused in the league, they don’t care too much about this match and tournament, like all teams from 2nd division.

On the other hand Rayo Vallecano is in great form. They are playing so well in the league, where are 8th. They can use a strong lineup here because here next game will be on Sunday, with 4 days to rest which are more than enough.

They will use a mixed squad with some starters and reserves, and maybe some player from B team. But Rayo is a much better team here, they will be more motivated because last year they already reached the semifinals, losing against Betis who was the champion later.

So we have a team from higher category, much more quality and motivation. All of this should be enough to see an awa victory here.

CARTAGENA - VILLARREAL

Cartagena is a team from 2nd division newly promoted this season. They have low budget as has been promoted just few years ago, but are performing well. Anyway, they have a problem which will be notorious for this tournament: a very short squad.

They already struggled in December when had to play 3 games in a week, losing 1 and drawing 2. They don’t have enough quality players to make rotations and put a competitive team. And of course, they are 100% focused in the league.

And for today it’s even worse: 4 reserves (which could have been used today) already left the club this days in the winter transfer market, added to the two injuries that the club has (goalkeeper and defender). Coach confirmed that “this is a match to enjoy”.

They managed to beat an amateur team with a late goal at 85’ (0:1) and then beat a team from the third category in penalties.

On the other hand, Villarreal is the opposite. They have a very strong squad, built to be competitive in several competitions (especially Europa League) and play 2 games per week. So they will be able to use strong lineups in the Spanish Cup and why not, fight for the title.

Villarreal is a very strong team, definitely top 5-6 in La Liga, and have very strong players to make competitive lineups even with rotations, because it’s what they did in the Europa League when they won the title in 2021.

Guests are much better team, and they lineup will be very strong in comparison with Cartagena who will use a very weak one and without motivation.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

<希洪竞技-雷约·巴列卡诺

希洪竞技是一支来自乙级联赛的球队。他们在与一支业余球队的比赛中艰难晋级(点球)，然后在下一轮轻松击败了一支第三类球队，但他们非常幸运，因为他们在7分和9分打进了两个快速进球。

他们在联赛中排名中游，没有达到预期，也没有进球。这支球队压力很大，因为他们本赛季换了老板，花了很多钱试图至少进入季后赛，现在他们在积分榜上排名第13位。

教练在这场比赛中一直使用混合阵容，今天预计会有很多变化。他们100%专注于联赛，周五将有一场重要的比赛对阵莱万特(第3名)，就在3天前。他们只有两天的休息时间，专注于联赛，他们不太关心这场比赛和比赛，就像所有来自乙级联赛的球队一样。

另一方面，雷约·巴列卡诺状态很好。他们在联赛中打得很好，排名第八。他们可以在这里使用强大的阵容，因为下一场比赛将在周日，他们有4天的休息时间，这已经足够了。

他们将使用混合阵容，包括一些首发和替补，也许还会有B队的球员。但是拉约在这里是一支更好的球队，他们会更有动力，因为去年他们已经进入了半决赛，输给了后来的冠军贝蒂斯。

所以我们有一个更高级别的团队，更有素质，更有动力。所有这些应该足以让我们在这里看到一场胜利。

卡塔赫纳-比利亚雷亚尔

卡塔赫纳是一支本赛季新升班马的乙级球队。他们的预算很低，就像几年前推广的那样，但表现很好。无论如何，他们有一个问题，这将是臭名昭著的比赛:一个非常短的阵容。

去年12月，他们在一周内打了3场比赛，1负2平。他们没有足够的高质量球员来进行轮换，组建一支有竞争力的球队。当然，他们100%的专注于联赛。

今天的情况更糟:在冬季转会市场上，已经有4名替补球员(今天可以使用)离开了俱乐部，再加上俱乐部有两名球员受伤(门将和后卫)。教练证实“这是一场值得享受的比赛”。

他们在85分(0:1)最后时刻以一粒进球击败了一支业余球队，然后在点球大战中击败了一支第三类球队。

另一方面，比利亚雷亚尔正好相反。他们有一个非常强大的阵容，在几项比赛中都很有竞争力(尤其是欧联杯)，每周打两场比赛。所以他们将能够在西班牙杯中使用强大的阵容，为什么不呢，为冠军而战。

比利亚雷亚尔是一支非常强大的球队，在西甲绝对排名前5-6，他们拥有非常强大的球员，即使是轮换，也能组成有竞争力的阵容，因为他们在2021年赢得欧联杯冠军时就是这样做的。

客队是更好的球队，他们的阵容和卡塔赫纳相比会非常强大，卡塔赫纳会使用一个非常弱的阵容，没有动力。